A U.S. District Judge in Michigan has issued a preliminary injuction against the state s upcoming law that prohibits the sale or rental of ultra-violent games to children. The law was signed by Gov. Jennifer M Granholm in September.

Judge Steeh wrote that it is unlikely that the State can demonstrate a compelling interest in preventing a perceived 'harm. He added that looming law, which goes into effect on Dec. 1, would likely have a chilling effect on adults' expression, as well as expression that is fully protected as to minors.

Steeh reasons that by using the threat of criminal penalties against those who give a violent game to a minor it could in fact lead to a form of self-censorship on the part of developers, creators, distributors and retailers. Steeh went as far as saying that it may even lead to all M and T games being pulled from store shelves.

In his opinion, Steeh seems to completely reject the research put forward by the state as proof of the harmfulness of video games to minors. What makes this so interesting is that it s the same research that both California and Illinois relied on to get their crap laws passed. Steeh says the research is unpersuasive and insufficient to sustain the argument.

One wonders when exactly this issue is going to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, perhaps when a state comes up with legitimate arguments for creating the law in the first place.

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