Only days after the Supreme Court struck down a California law that took away the rights of computer and video game players, it's already time to defend the decision.

Critics who disagree with the Supreme Court's ruling are once again looking at ways to challenge game players and game developers' freedom of speech.

We're going to need your help to ensure the emphatic declaration made by the 7-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States does not come under attack.

Pledge your support for computer and video games as free speech. Sign the Gamers Pledge today:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/sign-pledge

Justice Scalia was crystal clear in his opinion: Computer and video games are no different than any other form of art:

And whatever the challenges of applying the Constitution to ever-advancing technology, "the basic principles of freedom of speech and the press, like the First Amendment's command, do not vary" when a new and different medium for communication appears.
That's why we need you to sign the Gamers Pledge. The more people who stand up to those seeking to subvert or manipulate this decision, the stronger we will be against their aggressive attempts at censorship.

Sign the Gamers Pledge today:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/sign-pledge

Thanks,

--Video Game Voters Network

We won.

The United States Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 to overturn a California law restricting the sale of computer and video games--declaring those games to be protected speech like any other form of creative expression. Justice Scalia writes:
Greetings Everyone~

Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And "the basic principles of freedom of speech . . . do not vary" with a new and different communication medium.

With our freedom of speech at stake you, and the rest of the Video Game Voters Network, sprung to action. You rallied to oppose this law - and you succeeded.

However, our job is not done. We have won our freedom of expression, now join other video game players and game developers in pledging to defend it.

The Gamer's Pledge is an emphatic declaration that you agree with the Supreme Court's ruling, and acknowledgment of the work ahead. It says that you will support continued efforts to ensure games are recognized as free speech, and defend these rights against attempts to manipulate the ruling.

You contributed a great deal to this victory in the past year. Collectively, VGVN members sent thousands of letters to state attorneys general, calling on them to oppose the California law. Ten even signed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing in favor of video games as protected speech.

Celebrate today's victory for parents, consumers, video game developers, artists, and all game players by signing the Gamer's Pledge to defend it. Then tell your friends to do the same:

Revel in this victory, and tell your friends today:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/sign-the-pledge

-- Video Game Voters Network

Computer and video game supporters now have some friends in high places.

Today, members of Congress formed a new caucus to help educate the public and other policymakers about the importance of a robust computer and video game industry.

Chaired by U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kevin Brady, the Congressional Caucus for Competitiveness in Entertainment Technology, or the E-TECH Caucus, will focus on the economic, educational and social benefits of computer and video games.

This is great news for our community. Now we've got to make sure this caucus is as powerful (and as large) as possible -- that's where you come in.

Will you write your representative and tell them how important this issue is for you?

http://www.videogamevoters.org/e-tech

While you and I don't need any education about the impact of the computer and video game industry on our lives, many people do.

With this caucus, we can help people recognize how much computer and video games contribute to the American economy: $24 billion in sales in 2010, and more than 120,000 Americans in high-paying, creative jobs in at least 34 states.

Moreover, the innovation within computer and video games drives innovation elsewhere, creating jobs and new industries. Today, computer and video games help returning soldiers in rehabilitation programs, keep seniors active later in life, and assist schools in educating our children.

The E-TECH Caucus is a big first step in getting lawmakers to understand all that. You can help by letting your representative know this issue matters to you, too.

Email your representative now:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/e-tech

Keep playing,

-- Video Game Voters Network

The video game industry is still very young when compared with the publishing, music and film worlds. That's why grassroots movements like the VGVN are so crucial in giving consumers and developers a voice when it comes to potential regulation of a medium still very much evolving.

The efforts of VGVN members were recently featured in a Gamasutra article about the effectiveness of grassroots video game advocacy.

Our campaign to send old and broken controllers to California state Senator Leland Yee was highlighted alongside other international acts to defend games.

In Germany, advocates collected over 73,000 signatures in a successful attempt to stop a government ban on violent video games.

Senior Vice President of the ESA, Richard Taylor sees grassroots advocacy as a necessary component of a growing video game industry:

"For a long time attacking video games was a low-risk high-reward proposition. It's very easy to say kids are off track because of video games, or this person did a horrible thing because he played games, but we've changed that greatly in the past few years, partly through organizing on a grassroots level and stepping in and countering those accusations."

Happy Holidays,

We asked you to share video game shopping tips for parents, and you replied by the hundreds.

We took the very best ideas and assembled them into the first-ever VGVN Holiday Shopping Guide. Check it out:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/vgvn-guide

Your tips ranged from how to pick fun video games for children to smart ways to enjoy games as a family. Here are a few we're featuring:

"Check the ESRB ratings on the game box. This is a great way to tell whether your child is ready for the content of the game." -- Michael from Greeneville, NC

"Buy group games or games that you can play with your children. Games that you can play as a family are hundred times more fun than solitary games; plus you can spend time with your children while having fun too." -- Anne from Seattle, WA

We received more advice like this from parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, store clerks and just regular gamers. We might even be featuring your advice!

Take a moment to go check out all the great ideas people sent us -- and then pass our Holiday Shopping Guide onto your friends and family who might need it:

http://www.videogamevoters.org/vgvn-guide

Have a great holiday season,

-- Video Game Voters Network