First of all, they weren't really sexting. A boy forwarded a nude photo of a girl to his cousin. I could understand the outrage if the boy had taken the photo and promised to keep it discreet. But that's not what happened.
The photo came from Instagram. It was already publicly visible. If the boys had shared a photo of a published centerfold model, would that violate this Florida law?
Secondly, if this had been a case of two teens communicating in a sexually explicit manner, in cases where such communication is done with both parties' consent, can that legitimately be restricted by law? If two teens sit on a park bench having the same conversation, would that be illegal? That seems like a dangerous attack on freedom of speech. What's next? Being arrested for thinking about sex?
I suppose that this shouldn't surprise me. It's Florida, after all, a state that has made it legal to shoot and kill people under almost any circumstances (one only needs to feel threatened in order to discharge their weapon legally). I can see how the free exchange of ideas and information might be seen as subversive in such a jurisdiction.
Copyright © 2014 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.