ESA Responds to Oklahoma Judge's Ruling on Games as Porn Bill

Oklahoma District Court Judge Robin Cauthron ruled the 2006 Oklahoma bill equating games with porn unconstitutional yesterday, issuing a permanent injunction against the legislation. The Entertainment Software Association has issued a response to Cauthron's ruling, obviously supporting the pro-game industry decision. "We need to move past unconstitutional attempts to circumvent Oklahoma citizensÂ’ rights. This bill was clearly unconstitutional and we now need to develop a public/private partnership that meets concerned parents' needs," said ESA president Michael Gallagher in an issued statement. "State officials and policymakers should work together with our industry to educate parents about game ratings and the parental controls available on all new video game consoles." Cauthron based her ruling on the First Amendment protection of video games as creative expression, and said there was "a complete dearth of legislative findings, scientific studies, or other rationale to support passage of the Act." Introduced by Rep. Fred Morgan (R-Oklahoma) in summer of 2006, the bill was halted from taking effect in November after Cauthron issued a primary injunction against it.