Utah obscenity bill to include videogames?

The ongoing US political efforts to impose new legislation regarding the sale of violent videogames have taken a new twist, as a Utah representative seeks an amendment to its pornography-based obscenity laws.

Utah Republican representative David L. Hogue has submitted a proposed amendment to the current obscenity laws, which specifically deals with minors less than 18 years of age, by inserting videogames into the normally pornography-related definition of what is obscene.

The proposed amendment further defines what is to be considered as 'inappropriately violent', including reference to any game that "uses brutal weapons designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and damage" or "endorses or glorifies torture or excessive weaponry." Additionally, games in which "lead characters resort to violence freely", and any violent game-related acts that are "patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole, with respect to what is suitable material for minors" have been cited in Hogue's proposal.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Margaret Plane, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Utah, stated: "You can't just stick violence into an obscenity statute and expect it to stand up to constitutional scrutiny. Obscenity is not protected speech. Government can regulate obscenity. The courts have not said the same thing about violence.''

The amendment is in the early planning stages at present, though it is unlikely that the bill will be passed as constitutional. If it is, it is equally unlikely to proceed further without the legal intervention of games industry trade body, the Entertainment Software Association. The ESA has successfully halted the implementation of new violent videogames legislation in several US states, and continues to contest such legislation on constitutional grounds.