Newspapers have had a centuries-long love affair with the First Amendment. Exercising our freedom of speech, after all, is our bread and butter. Whenever our favorite section of the Bill of Rights gets a shout-out in the news, we'd be stupid not to throw our two cents in.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 vote, ruled that states cannot ban the sale or rental of violent video games to children, deeming such a ban as a violation of the First Amendment.
In his majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that just like books and movies, video games fall into a category of entertainment that deserves free-speech protection.
We feel this is a good message to send to people who are up in arms about these kinds of games. Parents should know what kinds of video games their kids play. If they feel the violence inappropriately influences their kids, they should talk to their kids about just that.
Now, we aren't against the protection of children from harmful influences. We understand that these games could feed into a culture of violence that is perpetuated by similar movies, and even by the very real wars and violence that are but a click away on the Internet. But is it the government's responsibility to make sure little Johnny doesn't see Sub-Zero rip Scorpion's spine out? Shouldn't that fall to the parents?
Besides, if a government ban did exist, little Johnny would only want to get his hands on the latest Call of Duty even more.
Instead of creating a culture of restrictions, let's make it open and have a conversation about it.
