"None of our freedoms are absolute, and the freedom of expression is not absolute"

That's from Florida Republican state Rep. William D. Snyder, defending the arrest of two Florida men for displaying alleged gang hand signals on their Myspace pages. Not that those men have been charged with any gang-related crimes, mind you, just with posting pictures of themselves making hand signals. As The Naples Daily News reports:

Their arrests came weeks after a new anti-gang law hit the state books. House Bill 43, a 95-page bill that created or tweaked some 35 different statutes, stiffened penalties for gang-related crimes, upping certain charges when a documented gang member is involved.

One of its statutes applies to "any person" who uses "electronic communication … to intimidate or harass other persons, or to advertise his or her presence in the community." The law covers Web sites, e-mail, faxes and texts, among forms of media.

The Lee County prosecutions appear to be the first in the state, according to officials with the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The law itself is unique across the nation, according to the National Gang Center, a federal program that tracks anti-gang legislation and methods.

(Via Overlawyered.com)