Common Sense Beats Out MN Games Law

superdan2k writes "A federal court judge dropped the bomb on Minnesota's pending gaming law that would have fined minors for purchasing games with the mature or adults-only ratings. The lawsuit against the legislation was brought by video game manufacturers who claimed that it infringed on free speech. The judge agreed, and the ruling said that the state had failed to prove that graphic video games were harmful to children."

Re:Which little boy would that be?

[Moderatbastard]

Now I've seen everything. Ok, the ID has one digit more than the automatic mod-up threshold, but this comment is genuinely insightful and funny and it deserves better than this.

Re:Incorrect

[drinkypoo]

Actually, my understanding is that it is unlawful to serve alcohol to a minor, unless you are said minor's legal guardian, or sell alcohol to a minor. I don't think there's anything illegal about drinking as a minor.

You're wrong, "MIP" is an oft-used acronym for "minor in posession" (of alcohol) and it's a crime. It's also illegal to serve alcohol to a minor. It's not illegal if you're their parent, BUT if they are busted for being in posession then you too can get busted, as an accessory to their crime. I think there's also some stupid crime for corruption of a minor or something that they could try to nail you with, but maybe only in some states.

However, I dare say that possession of a fake ID is at least worth a small fine...

yes, that would be a separate charge.

If bars don't want to get busted, maybe they should be more serious about ID checking. Call the cops when you find a fake ID, don't just confiscate it. Raise the bar to entry a bit, and make it more likely that kids will get busted, and you'll see them do it less.

I just don't see why this guy wants us to make it easy. Alcohol is more damaging to society than any other drug, including the illegal ones, although that's probably only because it's so prevalent. They had to repeal that amendment because criminizaling alcohol was the greatest boon to organized crime ever; probably the reason Marijuana (for example) is still illegal is that small-timers are primarily the ones profiting from that and they are not typically gunning each other down in the streets and killing bystanders in the bargain. Given that we have a very real problem with alcohol in this country, over 85,000 deaths a year, maybe we shouldn't be cutting the alcohol industry too much slack? That includes bars.

Mike hatch Vs video games

[Nyph2]

I live in St Paul MN, and was just listening to a story about this on MPR. It sounds like the emphasis was on the lack of proof they cause harm. Mike hatch, the ex-attourney general currently running for govenor, is now attemping to get said proof according to the statement he made today... so dont expect this issue to stay dead.
Before elections I expect to see more of a fuss on this issue in MN.

Re:Fining the Wrong Way

[Irish_Samurai]

I have lived in many states in the Eastern time zone, and in all of them the legal age to sell alcohol was 18. This was by design to allow younger people who would most likely hold minimum wage jobs at grocery stores and restraunts the ability to facilitate transactions for alcohol. The list of the states I can personally attest to are:

Tennesse
Georgia
Florida
Alabama
Connecticut
Texas

This is not an exhaustive list, and is completely alegory by nature.

From my experience, the reason there are not many 18 year old bartenders is that they cannot be trusted with an establishments number 1 source of revenue. Bars in dining establishments have a general 300% mark-up on alcohol, and "doing the counts" is an inexact science. You don't want an irresponsible child handling the most profitable aspect of your business.