14 DAY TRIAL // In the wake of the Supreme Court decision that declared the California law that criminalized violent game sales to minors was unconstitutional it seems that other states to pass similar bills at the state level are being abandoned, with reports from Utah saying that a California-like bill was dropped by the representative that initiated it.
Michael Morley, who is a state representative in Utah coming from the Republican party, is reported by the Deseret News to have stated that he does not intend to pursue the bill that he has initiated and has modeled on the California law.
His change of position comes despite the fact that his legislative initiative has a number of features that were specifically designed to allow it to pass any constitutionality challenges coming from groups like the ESA.
The Utah bill was set to allow all parents who saw their minor children playing violent video games to sue retailers and ask for damages under a false advertisement claim.
The bill passed both houses of the Utah legislature back in 2009, but former governor John Huntsman vetoed it.
He is now officially a candidate from the Republican party for the presidency of the United States and his veto could become an issue in the upcoming inter party debates.
Despite the fact that a Utah anti-video game bill is now less likely, Leland Yee, the California representative that was behind the struck-down law, is set to look for ways to create new legislation that would be able to get past the Supreme Court.
He stated, “We're poring through the opinions to see where we can create a pathway for a successful bill that could withstand a challenge. Even with the existing court, there may be, if we craft the bill differently, there may be a basis for trying to get another hearing within the Supreme Court on this critical matter.”