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Florida judge clears 'Bully' release

16 October 2006 14:17 by Ben "Lethal_B" Reid | 12 comments

Controversy has been surrounding Take Two published video game "Bully" recently after veteran campaigner against violence in games and music Jack Thompson had brought a case calling for the banning of the game in Florida as a "public nuisance".

After viewing a copy of the game being played however, Florida Judge Ronald Friedman has said that whilst the game is of a violent nature, it is not a nuisance.

It was though that the title - in which the player becomes a new arrival who has to negotiate his way through the complex and sometimes violent world of boarding school - could have been banned in the US before its release, but the game is now expected to retail on 17th October.

Last week, much to the surprise of civil rights activists, Friedman ordered Take Two to demonstrate the game to him - despite recent legal precedent which does not support pre-publication rulings on material.

"There's a lot of violence. A whole lot. Less than we see on television every night," told Friedman, according to the Miami Herald. "Does that mean I would want my children to view it? No. But does it rise to a point that its a nuisance? The answer is no from what I saw."

In an interesting discussion with OUT-LAW Radio last month, Thompson shed light on his "public nuisance" debate, saying, "In Florida you have what is called a nuisance statute which says that a private citizen can get an injunction to shut down any commercial activity that is dangerous to the public, so I think that the statute is appropriate to apply to this game.. I filed the lawsuit to prevent the sale of the game to school age kids, because this is where the real danger is.

"No-one is trying to ban it outright, but as it stands now, regardless of the rating that the game may get, anyone of any age will be able to buy it and that is just very dangerous. America has become the land of the free and the home of the utterly depraved."

Friedman said that he would schedule a further hearing after the game has been released. However, Thompson is said to not be planning further pursuit of the case.

Sources:
- Miami Herald
- Out-Law

Permalink to this article

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Discuss this article!
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 16 October 2006 15:47
Sadly they almost found the right judge to support them thank god in the end he sided on common sense,I am afriad that sometime soon they will find a judge willing to abandon the 1rst amendment and side with the censors.. altho it should be overturned during appeal...the US is sliding off that slippery hill maybe the rolling to the bottom can be delayed for awhile but it seems we are headed there regardless... [ + quote]
Venom5880 (Senior Member) 16 October 2006 16:00
I knew he was planning something, but this? That's just silly. Just glad the judge had enough sense to realize what a joke Jacko is... [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 16 October 2006 16:08
Venom5880 Ya but I can see soemthign "sticking" sometime soon and that has me scared to death... [ + quote]
Venom5880 (Senior Member) 16 October 2006 20:01
True. Considering he's been around forever though, I don't think we have too much to worry about. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(attorney) I mean, just look at all that non-sense. Attacking Janet Reno, rap music, video games, and even the Florida Bar of all things. What I don't get is how anyone could take him seriously after all his past antics. [ + quote]
vashwolf (Newbie) 16 October 2006 20:34
It's Big Brother at it again deciding what games we can play. [ + quote]
Chris1000 (Junior Member) 17 October 2006 9:37
Frankly, just because something is a nuisance to those who are overly religious and overly moral, does not mean that it should be banned. They have tried to ban literary works of art: Alice in Wonderland (because Carroll was a known pedophile), A Catcher in the Rye, and numerous other books that are part of any good English curriculum. These people are not about protecting children (since they see bullying almost EVERY DAY!), but about protecting a certain group of people who don't want anything 'negative' out there in the world (and negative is their decision!). [ + quote]
kaosX (Senior Member) 17 October 2006 10:47
on its way from gamefly, 9.4 out of 10 with 40 or so ratings. should be good, cant wait to see why they want it banned. [ + quote]
yetagain (Inactive) 17 October 2006 11:15
What an F'ing A'hole Jack Thompson is. Being a Catholic, I feel somewhat hellbound for saying this but the world would be better off if he were dead and buried. I mean, I can respect that he is a numbskull "conservative Christian" but come on...........that doesn't mean one should abandon all reason and proactively try and take away the civil liberties that people should have. Not to mention that he has NO FAITH in the general public's ability to govern their kids and make (mostly) the right decisions about what to purchase and for whom. Basically this prick doesn't trust people and we should all be offended by him. I can only hope that he gets his a$$ sniped by a highway shooter and doesn't live to tell the tale. I reserve this feeling for the pissant judge who rules in ANYWAY in Jack Thompson's favor. GOD help us all. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 17 October 2006 11:28
kaosX they wanted it banned becuse they didnt play it,they thought ti was a GTA clone in shcool where you are the bully,in fact most of the game you are fighting against the bullies no blood no "death" when it got a T rating JT got his arse handed to him. [ + quote]
fatjohnny (Junior Member) 17 October 2006 17:03
I say that the judge has a good mind and that Jack Thompson can go suck a fat for saying that Video Games cant practice their first amendment rights here in the US. [ + quote]
Steve83 (Member) 22 October 2006 8:38
Did he say "utterly deprIved"??? This is just more evidence that the US government considers its citizens to be incompetent to make decisions indpendently, or to supervise their own children. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 22 October 2006 11:46
Steve83 Pretty much,why do you think we have a electoral collage to make sure the wrong person is not elected in a election the peoples votes are practically worthless. [ + quote]