A while back, I wrote about Schwarznegger v. EMA, the case going before the Supreme Court that could possibly restrict video game sales. Currently, pro-gamer organizations are marshalling support for their side of the argument. The Entertainment Consumers Association is gathering names for a petition to include in an amicus brief to be submitted as part of the case proceedings. Go to their site and sign the petition before midnight.
(More on Techland: Violent Video Game Law To Get Tested in Supreme Court)
Gamers aren’t the only ones worried about the legal ramifications of Schwarznegger v. EMA. No less a luminary than Stan Lee is throwing his support behind the cause. In a letter posted on the Video Game Voters Network website, the legendary co-creator of the Hulk, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four says that the parallels between the ways that games are being framed now and how comics were demonized in the 1950s are disturbing:
I’m writing to urge gamers everywhere to take a stand and defend both the First Amendment and the rights of computer and video game artists by joining the Video Game Voters Network (VGVN). My memory has always been lousy and it’s not improving with age. But it’s good enough to remember a time when the government was trying to do to comic books what some politicians now want to do with video games: censor them and prohibit their sales. It was a bad idea half a century ago and it’s just as bad an idea now. And you can do something about it.
Stan’s got a very good point. If you care about video games being protected as free speech, go to either the ECA page on Schwarznegger v. EMA or the VGVN site and learn more. Excelsior.