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Friday, December 30, 2005

Ind. Law - "Indiana latest to try game law, going for pyrrhic defeat" [Updated]

Here is an unreverential look at SB 135, from the tech world. An Ars Technica report begins:

If at first you fail, why not try and fail again? That seems to be the unintended message coming out of the office of Indiana State Senator Dennis Kruse (R). The State Senator is proposing legislation that would restrict the sale of video games to minors, despite the fact that there is questionable national legislation already pending (that's likely unconstitutional), and state attempts to pass such laws to date have been smashed by the judicial gavel.

Kruse, it might seem, is a crusader. At least, one hopes that he's expecting a divine reward for dragging the state into this debacle again. The state capitol, Indianapolis, was one of the first cities in the nation to try and strike out at violent video games, first going after arcades and other entertainment vendors back in 2000. The quest ended up where they all do: in front of a judge, and left for dead. Now that California, Illinois, and Michigan have all suffered astounding defeats in their attempts to address PC and console game sales, Indiana wants to join the ranks of the failures.

For a fairly comprehensive review of the Indiana efforts, see this Dec. 3, 2005 ILB entry.

[Update 12/31/05] The AP reports today, via the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

State Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, said Friday she would introduce the law in the upcoming session designed to compel stores from selling or renting the games to people 17 years old and under, as the “M” for mature labels suggest. Although the rating system is in place, no one is required to enforce it, she said Friday.

The bill, modeled after similar laws in other states, would give Indiana enforcement powers over stores that ignore the labels, she said. * * * Simpson said she had been considering the bill for several months. “We’re not setting ages or changing the ratings, we are asking retail agencies to enforce it,” she said Friday.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 30, 2005 07:25 PM
Posted to Indiana Law