While an official ruling on today's U.S. Supreme Court hearing will have to wait, many of the justices questioned the proposed California law that would ban the sale of violent video games to minors. In a transcript posted online, Zackery Morazzini, a California attorney general arguing for the law in today's proceedings, said the state should be allowed to regulate the sales of violent games, similar to the same sales restrictions placed on sexual material. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg quickly shot down his assertion, however.
"What's the difference?" said Ginsburg. "I mean, if you are supposing a category of violent materials dangerous to children, then how do you cut it off at video games?"
"What about films? What about comic books? Grimm's fairy tales? Why are video games special?"
Additionally, Justice Antonin Scalia questioned Morazzini's definition of "deviant, violent video games."
"What's a deviant -- a deviant, violent video game? As opposed to what? A normal violent video game? Some of the Grimm's fairy tales are quite grim, to tell you the truth," Scalia said.
"Are they okay? Are you going to ban them, too?"
Other justices, however, express concern over some violent games, such as Postal 2. Chief Justice John Roberts said there is a need to protect children from such content.
"We do not have a tradition in this country of telling children they should watch people actively hitting schoolgirls over the head with a shovel so they'll beg with mercy, being merciless and decapitating them, shooting people in the leg so they fall down," said Roberts.
"Pour gasoline over them, set them on fire and urinate on them. We do not have a tradition in this country. We protect children from that. We don't actively expose them to that."
The Supreme Court has until June to make its decision.
The full and complete transcript of today's proceedings can be seen here.
IGN has contacted the Entertainment Software Association and San Francisco democratic state senator Leland Yee for additional comments.
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