Utah gov vetoes Thompson game bill

After careful consideration and study, I have decided to veto HB 353… While protecting children from inappropriate materials is a laudable goal, the language of this bill is so broad that it likely will be struck down by the courts as an unconstitutional violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause and/or the First Amendment. The industries most affected by this new requirement indicated that rather than risk being held liable under this bill, they would likely choose to no longer issue age appropriate labels on goods and services. Therefore, the unintended consequence of the bill would be that parents and children would have no labels to guide them in determining the age appropriateness of the goods or service, thereby increasing children’s potential exposure to something they or their parents would have otherwise determined was inappropriate under the voluntary labeling system now being recognized and embraced by a significant majority of vendors. - Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman

Wow, I can’t believe that Mr. Huntsman actually vetoed the bill! This is a big win for the game industry. Obviously, some people are a very happy…while others are very upset. You can check out some reactions to the veto at the links below.