The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday against a 2005 California law that aimed to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The court ruled that the law violates the rights of minors under the First and 14th amendments of the Constitution. The ruling upheld an earlier ruling in a U.S. District Court.
Much of the reasoning behind the law was based on studies that claimed minors exposed to violent video games were more likely to engage in aggressive or anti-social behavior and would be more desensitized to violence. The Justices hearing the case dismissed that research.
“None of the research establishes or suggests a causal link between minors playing violent video games and actual psychological or neurological harm, and inferences to that effect would not be reasonable,” said Justice Consuelo Callahan in her ruling.
The law has never taken effect, as it was struck down by a U.S. District Court shortly after being signed into law. A spokeswoman for Governor Schwarzenegger, Camille Anderson, said he was reviewing the ruling of the court.
“The governor believes strongly we have a responsibility to our children and our communities to protect against the effects of video games depicting ultra-violent actions,” she said.