Did the High Court Make the Right Decision in Striking Down Law on Violent Video Games?

We've all seen commercials for the latest video games that promise bigger explosions, more innovative ways to kill enemies and deadlier weaponry for maximum carnage.

The games are readily available at places such as Target or Walmart in Van Nuys, and have many local kids buzzing. That availability was a concern to state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) when he wrote a law, passed by the state Legislature in 2005, to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. 

Video game companies challenged that legislation in the federal courts, preventing the law from ever taking effect. On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 7-2 vote, struck down the California law.

"As a parent, you have certain 'lines in the sand' that you won't cross," Jill Krutchik, an Encino mother, during a discussion about violent video games. "For some parents, it is foul language. For others, it's sexual content. For me, it is violence in video games."

The court majority said the games are protected by the First Amendment right of free speech.

"Like protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas—and even social messages," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote. "That suffices to confer First Amendment protection."

We'd love to know what other Encino parents think.

Do you allow your children to play violent video games? Did the court make the right decision? Tell us in the comments.