In a decision that may eventually have repercussions in other media, Federal District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly has ruled that the recently passed Safe Games Illinois Act (Public Act 94-315), which would have prohibited the sale or rental to persons under age 18 of any computer and video games that include depictions or simulations of 'human to human violence in which the player kills, seriously injures, or otherwise causes serious physical harm to another human,' was unconstitutional.  The judge stated that the state had failed to prove that violent video games had an ill effect on minors and criticized the law's overly broad criteria for determining what constitutes a 'harmful' video game.

The Illinois law was quite detailed and highly intrusive.  It provided for stiff fines and even jail time for retailers who violated its strictures, and required retailers' POS scanner systems to prompt clerks to check IDs, while prohibiting the use of self-service checkout mechanisms for the purchase or rental of video games.  The law also closely regulated the posting of signs concerning sales of video games -- making them mandatory in several designated spots in any retail establishment wishing to sell or rent games, and even providing the minimum size for the 'warning' signs.

A key part of the judge's ruling (at least for retailers of comics, movies and role-playing games) was his rejection of the state's contention that the violence depicted in the video games had an ill effect on minors.  Judge Kennelly's decision marks the second time in the past two months and the fifth time in four years that the courts have quashed half-baked attempts to regulate the sale of video games.

While the Illinois law attempted to establish its own, very broad definition of what constitutes a video game that is harmful to persons under 18, a proposed law in Congress, the Family Entertainment Protection Act sponsored by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joseph Lieberman, attempts to use the industry-created Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) standards as a basis to regulate the sale of videogames to minors.  While the Clinton-sponsored law may provide her with some red-state credibility as a 'moral reformer,' it stands little chance of passing constitutional muster since in the past the courts have taken a dim view of previous attempts to provide these privately created ratings the force of law, which is essentially giving governmental powers to a private party or association.