Court Blocks Oklahoma Gaming Law

A U.S. District Court Judge has issued a preliminary injunction against Oklahoma’s violent games regulation statute.

Yesterday U.S. District Court Judge Robin Cauthron granted an injunction against Oklahoma’s HB 3004, which would make it a crime for a retailer, parent, or any other individual to display, sell, or provide games deemed “inappropriately violent” to minors.

The injunction was sought by trade industry plaintiffs the Entertainment Merchants Association and the Entertainment Software Association, in order to prevent the law’s enforcement pending the resolution of the case. HB 3004, which places certain violent computer and video games in the same statutory category as pornographic and sadomasochistic materials, was signed into law last June. Prior to the injunction, it was scheduled to go into effect this November.

As in previous gaming regulation cases, the plaintiffs are seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. Judge Cauthron noted in the ruling that they are “substantially likely to prevail” given that similar laws have been unanimously blocked or overturned.