The perennial bill to keep overly violent video games from children was taken out of committee Tuesday as its sponsor felt that it was "not ready."

Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, the sponsor of House Bill 50, received a binder from the state Attorney General's Office filled with court cases indicating that similar bills passed by other states were held to be unconstitutional.

The bill was defeated last year when it was sponsored by Dave Hogue, who still believes strongly in limiting the violence to which young people are exposed.

"This is one of my great passions," said Hogue on Tuesday. "There has been a lot of opposition from the industry, and the Attorney General is twisting his arm," he said as he sat waiting to testify before a committee that would later pull the bill from the schedule.

Wyatt said he does not wish to bring the bill back to committee until he feels that he can answer the constitutional questions that have been raised. "If it passes," he said, "there will be a lawsuit." Wyatt said there's a fair chance that both district and federal circuit courts would hold the law to be unconditional; however, he said that he "does not know how the Supreme Court will rule."

Currently, nine states have attempted similar legislation, and in all cases it has been ruled by courts to be unconstitutional.

"In every case," said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, plaintiffs were "awarded six-figure attorneys fees," fees that the state would have to pay.

"There are things you can do to educate parents and use the existing rating system," Shurtleff said.

In Oklahoma a similar bill is undergoing scrutiny by the 10th Circuit Court, of which Utah is part. Shurtleff said his recommendation would be that Utah wait and see how the court rules in Oklahoma's case, and let Oklahoma spend the money.

Wyatt said he believes that this statute is important and said that it mirrors the pornography and obscenity statutes that are already on the books. He argues that if it is possible to regulate what pornography is, it should then be possible to regulate what too much violence is.

The bill would require a three-part test to determine whether a video game was considered too violent for children. The game would have to appeal to a morbid interest, be patently offensive to the community and have no redeeming scientific, artistic or political qualities.

Wyatt said that under his legislation most "mature" rated games would be perfectly acceptable. It is when children are, "acting out as if they were the kids in Columbine," he says, that raises his concerns about the impact that these games have on Utah's children.

HB 50, Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan. This bill amends the definition of material that is harmful to a minor to include inappropriate violence, and defines what constitutes inappropriate violence.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A4.