The opposition to HB257 was split between those who thought the law was an intrusion on personal liberty and those who thought it should have been narrowly targeted at extremely violent video games.

Rep. David Hogue, R-Riverton, who sponsored the legislation, read off a list of video games that he believes would violate his bill, and those include Resident Evil 4 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

"It trivializes the serious nature of realistic violence," Hogue said. "It makes it fun to kill people and pull their heads off."

After the vote, Hogue would only say he was not giving up on his proposal, though he declined to answer any other questions.

Hogue's bill would have made it a felony to knowingly provide to a child anything from a CD to a video game that includes graphic violence used to shock or stimulate, violence that holds the plot together and glorifies torture. A court would also have to determine that such items did not have any serious artistic, political, literary or scientific value.

While legislative attorneys indicated the bill would not violate the Constitution, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah believes Hogue's bill tramples on the First Amendment.

Other opponents include the Motion Picture Association of America, local video game stores and the Utah Retail Merchants Association.

"As much as all of us would like to protect our young people from these violent depictions, can Utah pass legislation to address our concerns and solve our problems?" asked Jim Olsen, of the merchants association. "I would say no."