The wreckage of failed video game legislation litters the US judicial landscape at the moment; strangely, the states continue to push such laws (and spend citizens' cash). Surely, at some point, legislators and governors and attorneys general will take a look around, note the unbelievably lopsided set of rulings against these laws, and pack it in. That day is not today.

Oklahoma is now the newest member of the Unconstitutional Law Club as a federal judge in the state's Western District has issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of a law designed to restrict access to certain video games.

Judge Robin Cauthron, the first female federal judge in the state of Oklahoma, said that the Oklahoma law "violates the United States Constitution's First Amendment freedom of expression and is unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment." She also found no evidence that video games harm kids and rejected arguments that the "interactivity" of games meant that First Amendment provisions did not apply.

Judge Cauthron also noted that the law would have restricted minors' access only to video games but not to material that was just as violent or sexual in books, films, and other media. Violating the Equal Protection Clause in such a manner is a big no-no, and it's no way to write broad legislation.

The Entertainment Software Association was predictably pleased with the ruling but pleaded with the states to take a different approach to dealing with the games industry. "We now need to develop a public/private partnership that meets concerned parents' needs," said the ESA's president, Michael Gallagher. "State officials and policymakers should work together with our industry to educate parents about game ratings and the parental controls available on all new video game consoles."