The Massachusetts town of Marshfield has finally lifted a 1982 ban on coin-operated video and arcade games in its businesses. The ban was overturned at a town meeting in a majority vote of 203-175.
The petition, spearheaded by Craig Rondeau, spoke to The Patriot Ledger, explaining why the ban never made a lick of sense ever since he was in the fourth grade and visited the Hanover arcade:
I was sitting thinking, ‘why is this illegal in my town, to have fun with my friends.
Back in 1983, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court uphold the decision, despite the challenge, that video games are "addictive to youth, who will skip school and spend unreasonable sums of money to play them at a quarter — and sometimes 50 cents," at least according to the resident who proposed the ban, Thomas R. Jackson.
Luckily, 31 years has past, and the law has become outdated, literally. This time around, Craig Rondeau and the voters have the final say, with him saying in an interview with WHDH 7 News:
They want the opportunity to choose [whether they have arcade games]. Let’s give them back their right to choose. It is a big deal. Because if it ruffled that many feathers, that it took 32 years to get it done, we did something important.
I only wish I could have voted with them.
