Supremes poke Schwarzenegger's 'violent' game ban

Can't be

That can't be a full quote... unless. Are Califuckinya legislators so ignorant as to believe it's possible to kill etc. an image of anything? Here I thought the kids who were supposed to have a problem telling the difference. Then again a four year old might be more mentally developed than most pols.

That said, I can't wait to see the gang bangers going to be saying stupid things like, "daaaamn, jyuo see dat hit? He messed 'at image up!" and "no offisa' dis here is just a image of my boy beatin' the livin' crap outa dat udda image dere."

Actually, no

There are ratings systems for music and movies, but my understanding is that they are voluntary. The vast majority of stores and theatres follow them, but there's no law that says they have to.

Title

"Surely they have a similar law for films in cinemas, DVD rental etc?"

Nope.

In fact, the MPAA has vigorously resisted attempts by municipalities to pass laws based on MPAA ratings of movies or DVDs.

There are quite a few reasons for this. First of all, the MPAA is a private corporation. If a law is based on MPAA ratings, then essentially what you've just done is you've written the standards and classifications decided arbitrarily by a corporate entity not accountable to the judicial system into law. Generally speaking, we consider that a bad thing to do. If legislators use MPAA ratings systems to determine what is or is not legal, then the control over determining matters of law has passed from the legislative branch of government directly to a private company.

Second, it raises a thorny issue of what to do about movies that aren't rated. If the law regulates the sale of movies with a certain rating, then does it implicitly require all movies to be rated? If I shoot a film with my camcorder and sell copies of it from my Web site, do I need to submit it to the MPAA?

How will I pay for that? The process isn't free; movie ratings boards have to eat, too. It can cost up to $25,000 to have a movie rated by the MPAA--pocket change for a studio but a significant hurdle for an indie filmmaker.

The MPAA rating system is voluntary, and businesses voluntarily choose to comply with it. When you see things like "children under 17 not admitted without parent", that isn't a law, it's a voluntary guideline.

Damn

Bet me to it

Not when you step on another's toes.

The right of free speech isn't absolute. Indeed, no rights are absolute because people's rights can intersect and clash. The general litmus test for limiting rights is this: one's rights end where another's begin. That's why "Fire in a crowded theater" is prohibited: deliberate inciting of mayhem that denies others the ability to live their own lives peacefully. Now, spouting hateful speech and such is protected since it doesn't in and of itself induce mayhem (people can be disgusted, but they generally turn away of their own accord, not out of panic). But restricting sales of games by law can restrict a young but mature person's ability to play their favorite game. It's also why pornography (as strict as we have it) still has its allowances (keep it clean and keep it away form the kids is generally all they ask).