The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law banning the sale or rental of

violent video games to minors. The court ruled that the law violated free-speech rights

and that government did not have the power to restrict ideas to which children may be

exposed. In a letter to the IEEE magazine The Institute, a reader expressed his

disagreement with the court ruling using the following argument:

Minors need to be protected, but not all parents are willing or able to protect their

children from harmful materials. There is evidence that many minors involved in brutal

crimes regularly played violent video games and often copied certain aspects of the

games in the real life. A government that fails to protect its citizens can rightfully be

blamed for sacrificing essential human values to ensure profits for the gaming industry.

Convert the readers argument into standard form (premises and conclusion). Then test

his or her argument to see if it is valid or invalid. If the argument is valid, is it sound or

unsound? If not, is it inductive or fallacious? Explain your assessment and its conclusion.

Also, do you find the argument persuasive? Explain your reasons. Whether you find the

argument persuasive or not, can you find a way of strengthening the argument?