Minnesota goes down the path of Video Game regulation with the signing of this bill. The Minnesota approach is very different from other states as it puts the responsibility directly on the purchaser instead of pressing the retailer into law enforcement duty. Since the only restriction on the retailer is to place warning signs, the chilling effect of carrying adult rated games is removed, which is my primary problem with legislation in other states.

While this bill is not a bad as other efforts, I still oppose it. I oppose it because it is still political scapegoating of an entire industry and enacted only to appease an uninformed populace. It encourages the meme of the game as an instrument of evil that our children must be protected against by placing games in the same vein as tobacco, alcohol and porn.

I also question the enforceability of this law. Will it be ignored by law enforcement or worse, will they write a ticket for every game found in the room of a kid that just went on a shooting rampage? Isn’t a law that is unenforceable also unconstitutional?

Oh yeah, and that whole “First Amendment” thingie too. This bill takes away access to legal materials to a certain class. Unless the First Amendment doesn’t apply to minors, this seems unconstitutional on its face.

The good people of Minnesota just spent a great deal of money on lawyers. I hope they remember that at the polls.

(ht: Game Politics and linked to basil's picnic.)