Woo-hoo!

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Ruling against age limit on game sales upheld
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, February 21, 2009

(02-20) 12:00 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- California's ban on selling video games to minors is unconstitutional because even the most graphic on-screen mayhem is free speech, and there's no convincing evidence it causes psychological damage to young people, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

"The government may not restrict speech in order to control a minor's thoughts," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in upholding a federal judge's ruling against the law, which has never been enforced. Similar laws in other states have also been struck down.

The head of an industry group that challenged the law praised the court's "rejection of video game censorship." State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, sponsor of the law, urged state officials to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BAI9161PAJ.DTL