Schwarzenegger To Appeal California Game Law Ruling

While earlier this week California Ninth Circuit Court ruled the state's AB1179 anti-violent game bill unconstitutional, Governor Schwarzenegger has moved to try to overturn the ruling, sparking a letter writing campaign by the ESA's grassroots Video Game Voters Network. The organization is urging the Governor “to withdraw the appeal and focus on educating parents about computer and video game ratings and the parental controls in all new game consoles.” "I will vigorously defend this law and appeal it to the next level," Schwarzenegger is quoted as saying, in reaction to the bill he originally signed into law being overturned. The Video Game Voters Network, which was formed by the ESA in 2006 as a means for American gamers to organize and take action against issues that impact the gaming industry, has made available a letter that California residents may fill out and send to the Governor directly from the organization's website. A statement on the network's website reads: “The Governor needs to hear from the citizens of California that government needs to leave video games alone, the same way his violent movies are seen by millions without government interference. Using the form below write Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him to stop his appeal of this ruling, and encourage him to work with the ESRB to educate parents about the ratings and parental controls, instead of wasting millions of our dollars pursuing this unconstitutional and unfair legislation.” Echoing this, video game public relations firm Michael Myers Public Relations, which represents such companies as SNK as well as the annual gaming convention PAX, has issued its own call for gamers and the media to write to the Governor to reconsider his decision, adding that “as a long standing member of the gaming community, MMPR has written the Governor urging him to stop the appeal of this ruling.” Full details of the VGVN's campaign can be found at the organization's website. [UPDATE: Schwarzenegger officially filed the appeal on September 5, 2007. "Many studies show the link between playing ultra-violent video games and violent behavior. We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. The Entertainment Merchants' Association also released a statement in response to the appeal: "It is unfortunate that the governor has chosen to appeal the federal court decision holding the California video game law to be unconstitutional. The court's ruling is consistent with rulings that have barred eight similar laws around the nation, and we fully expect it to be upheld on appeal." The statement continued: "Rather than wasting more public funds in trying to defend a patently unconstitutional law, we believe the state should invest in helping parents make informed decisions about the video games brought into their homes."]