Minnesota to appeal court decision

Last month, a federal judge struck down a Minnesota law that would fine minors attempting to buy games rated M for Mature or AO for Adults Only. The judge found the law to be an unconstitutional violation of free-speech rights, adding that the state failed to provide evidence that exposure to violent games causes harm to minors.

This morning, Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch said that he is appealing the judge's decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"What the Act really does is make sure that parents are involved in the decision of whether their children should play a violent or sexually-explicit video game," Hatch said in a statement. "The law simply prohibits children 16 years old and younger from buying those types of video games. If the parents aren't troubled by their kids playing these games, they can buy them for their children."

As for the court's finding that the state failed to show sufficient evidence supporting the law, Hatch said mental and public health organizations "have identified more than 1,000 studies showing a connection between media violence and aggression in children."

"The connection isn't surprising, since children play the role of a criminal in a number of these games and are rewarded for robbing a bank, killing a cop, or participating in a drive-by shooting," Hatch said.

Hatch paired his statement on the appeal with a call for federal lawmakers to allow the states to regulate Internet service providers (ISPs). Hatch wants to require ISPs "to periodically disclose to subscribers the options available to block offensive material," specifically violent or pornographic Web sites.