Maryland's recently passed gaming bill may be the first bit of video game legislation that ESA president Doug Lowenstein has backed.

The proposal was overhauled in that whole song and dance that turned it from a bill to a law. The end result is a bit of legalese that imposes up to a $5,000 fine and a year in jail for someone selling an Adults Only rated game to minors. Out is the whole new rating system.

Doug had this to say:

"The ESA has always been supportive of the inclusion of video games to 'harmful to minor' statues that meet the Supreme Courts obscenity standards. We believe that video games should be treated in the same way that books and movies are treated under the law."

No wonder he supports it, it's a law that effects a whopping 22 games. Talk about a good use of tax-payers' money and law-makers' time. Now they need to get to work on that law that prohibits hemophiliacs from cutting pink roses from the White House garden. —Brian Crecente

Mayrland Passes Game Law [Gamasutra]

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