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January 16, 2004
Dress Warm in North Miami
Posted by Ernest Miller
C|Net News has published a Reuters wirestory on yet another First Amendment-violating anti-violent games law (Florida city targets computer game violence). Mayor Joe Celestin of North Miami City is apparently offended by the line "Kill the Haitians" in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, calling the phrase "incitement" to violence.
Retailers would be fined (up to $500/day for repeat offenders) for renting or selling violent videogames to minors without parental permission (although one wonders why anyone should have access to the games is they are "incitement"). Violent videogames being games in which players kill or cause harm "to a human form." This is sooo not-Constitutional.
There is a great quote in the story:
"Have they ever watched Cartoon Network?" North Miami video store owner Bob Richardson told the Miami Herald newspaper. "It's the most violent network on television."
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was partially inspired by the classic Al Pacino movie Scarface, which had the following quote, which seems apropos.
You wanna waste my time? Okay. I call my lawyer. He's the best lawyer in Miami. He's such a good lawyer, that by tomorrow morning, you gonna be working in Alaska. So dress warm.
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Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
Ernest Miller's blog postings can also be found @
1. Matt Haughey on January 16, 2004 09:10 PM writes...
I once had religious folks show up at my door with a copy of a magazine telling me about the evils of GTA3 and GTA:VC. I had a long chat with them about how I enjoyed the escapism of the games that are designed for adults and that I've never shot anyone in the face, carjacked a ferrari, nor have I committed vehicular manslaughter. I agreed they shouldn't be played by children and that I didn't think my right to play the game as an adult should be curtailed by local laws. They weren't too off-put by my feelings on the matter and we sort of agreed to disagree.
I'm reminded of the same points here. The game is rated M for Mature, meaning no one under 17 is supposed to play it. No one should get fined for selling the game to adults and I hope adults still have unfettered access to the game in that city.
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