The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge James Brady comes shortly after the Governor of Louisiana signed Act 441 into law, which bans and criminalizes the sale, lease or rental of a video that “appeals to a minor’s morbid interest in violence.”
But in a lawsuit filed by the Entertainment Software Association and the Entertainment Merchants Association seeking a preliminary injunction and ultimately a permanent injunction, Brady sided with the plaintiffs, stating that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Louisiana law infringes on free speech and violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Brady further stated that depictions of violence should be given full constitutional protection along with other unpopular forms of free speech, and that video games should not be treated differently from other forms of media.
"The state may not restrict video game expression merely because it dislikes the way that expression shapes an individual's thoughts and attitudes," Brady wrote in his ruling.
The law would have prohibited the sale of violent video games if the average person, applying contemporary community standards, found that the video or computer game, taken as a whole, appeals to the minor's morbid interest in violence; if the game depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors; or if the game, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
Under the terms of the law, violations would have resulted in a maximum fine of $2,000 or a year in prison.
The ESA/EMA lawsuit was first filed in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge against State Attorney General Charles Foti. The plaintiffs were awarded a temporary restraining order on June 16.
Other laws seeking to ban the sale of violent video games to anyone under 18 have already been struck down in six states
Foti has not yet announced whether he will appeal Brady’s ruling.
