In a long-awaited decision, the US Supreme Court has ruled that California may not ban the sale of violent video games to children, striking down a law that is the latest in a long line of attempts by various states to make the sale of such games illegal. In Governor of California v. the Entertainment Merchants Association, the court held in a 7-2 vote that ”Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. This country has no tradition of specially restricting children’s access to depictions of violence. And California’s claim that interactive video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its outcome, is unpersuasive.” The ruling invalidates a 2005 law that forbade the sale or rental of violent games to persons under 18.