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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is considering whether to join the video game industry in trying to strike down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to teenagers.
Shurtleff says he and several other attorneys general are considering filing a friend-of-the-court brief opposing California's law.
"If we do file it, it will be narrowly tailored to deal with two things: free speech and our law enforcement concern at handing a Supreme Court-recognized defense to every criminal out there: 'Oh, yeah, the video game made me do it,' " Shurtleff said.
The California law was passed in 2005, but its implementation was blocked by a federal judge because of free speech concerns.
The court also said California couldn't prove video game violence was harmful to minors.
Last month, the attorneys general of 11 states, led by Louisiana, filed a brief supporting the California law.
This week, Common Sense Media, an organization supporting the California law, wrote a letter to Shurtleff urging him not to join in the brief opposing the California law. It suggested such a stance would be inconsistent with Shurtleff's claims that protecting children is a priority for his administration.
"It is hard to believe that someone making these statements would support the video game industry's anti-child safety position," Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer wrote.
Shurtleff said he is considering getting involved in the case because if the Supreme Court rules in California's favor, it will recognize a causal link between video game violence and violent crime that could become a defense strategy.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the California law during its upcoming term, which begins in October.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
