Anti-censorship group blasts Paterson public library for possible ban on violent video games

PATERSON An anti-censorship group and a video game trade association are battling to try to stop the Paterson public library from banning violent video games, according to a report on PatersonPress.com.

The National Coalition Against Censorship fired off a letter to the city library last week saying a ban would violate free speech protected by the First Ammendment.

The letter says that library administrators are public officials and are barred from removing materials merely because they dislike them or find them offensive.

It also says, "The role of libraries is not to police the use of a perfectly legal form of casual entertainment, whether the user is a teen or any other patron," according to PatersonPress.com.

The Washington-D.C. based Entertainment Software Association, meanwhile, asked library trade groups to intervene on its behalf.

Although it was reported last month that the library voted to ban direct-shoot games, library officials told PatersonPress.com that hasn't happened. A vote will take place on Feb. 27.

'Call of Duty,' other violent video games banned from Paterson library

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Anti-censorship group blasts Paterson public library for possible ban on violent video games