Constitution Protects Right to Lie About Purple Heart

[Pakman3000]

A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a little-known law making it a crime to falsely claim to have been awarded a military medal.

A Colorado man who was never in the military was arrested for falsely claiming to have won the Purple Heart (.pdf) and other medals as a Marine in Iraq. He challenged the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which provides penalties up to a year in prison, on grounds it breached the First Amendment.

In the first ruling declaring the measure unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn agreed with defendant Rick Strandlof’s contention. The judge said the government’s defense of the act was “troubling” as well as “contrary, on multiple fronts, to well-established First Amendment doctrine” (.pdf). The Purple Heart is awarded to military personnel wounded or killed in “any action against an enemy of the United States.”

Dozens of defendants have been charged under the statute. The San Francisco–based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing the statute’s constitutionality in a case brought by a man sentenced to 400 hours of community service and fined $5,000.

The act makes it unlawful to falsely represent, verbally or in writing “to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States, any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration, or medal, or any colorable imitation of such item.”

The government, which is mulling an appeal, argued that the law should be upheld.

“By allowing anyone to claim to possess such decorations, could impact the motivation of soldiers to engage in valorous, and extremely dangerous, behavior on the battlefield,” the government wrote.

Judge Blackburn was not buying it.

“This wholly unsubstantiated assertion is, frankly, shocking, and indeed, unintentionally insulting to the profound sacrifices of military personnel the Stolen Valor Act purports to honor,” the judge ruled. “To suggest that the battlefield heroism of our servicemen and women is motivated in any way, let alone in a compelling way, by considerations of whether a medal may be awarded simply defies my comprehension.”

Strandlof told CNN last year that he lied about his record because, among other things, of a “severely underdiagnosed mental illness.”



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This isn't right at all. Timmy is gonna be PISSED.

[saviger]

I heard about this on the radio

[Timmy_2_Tones]

Me as well as saviger, this is the type of bullshit that is ruining America. Outside of the Purple Heart, anything that requires congresses to award the decoration is not just a trinket. People have to lose a part of themselves in order to get the Purple Heart. Not one person that has the Purple Heart, wouldn't trade it to be normal, or in my case sane. For a Judge to say this law is unconstitutional is disgusting. You are dam right this pisses me off, now the honor that we as Purple Heart recipients received is shit on by some piece of shit, and nobody gives a shit. Thank you America, you shame Veterans again.

Sent from my awesome phonalyzer....

[Lorimere]

I Don't see how in the hell the judge came to this decision. Just flies in the face of what is right.

[David_3033]

WoW!! I don't know what to say about that BS!! I just know that pisses me off and what is this country coming to!?!?!? :twisted:

[squidfamily1]

This will get fixed. It sounds to me like the judge is saying the wording is to vague in the rule. They'll just change the wording and problem solved.
I do have to agree with him though that the brave men and women who receive any form of valoruos commendation don't get it because they set out to get it. Those who receive purple hearts, silver stars, etc... get them because of the people they are and the sacrifices they are willing to make, the medals are just a by product of that.
Those of you who have receved these medals and have suffered as a result, I salute you and hope that you are on the way to becoming whole.

[Ironhide400]

This is crazy! Why does our government not care about our soldiers anymore? All these politicians love their freedom, but don't give two shits about how they got it or keep it...WTF!

[shonyx]

Let them lie... Fuck em... They want to use 1st Amendment's freedom of expression for this crap? Sure, let them. I propose this, if you lie about getting awarded a medal, say Purple Heart for example, and cannot produce the DD-214 or the accompanying documentation then you get awarded a free blanket party by the nearest military base at the enlisted barracks. I don't think the blanket party would be all that great at the O barracks... :twisted:

[tracker_usmc]

I'm speechless! This shit has got to stop, I'm tired of all these tree hugging bastards saying this and that is unconstitutional!

[Timmy_2_Tones]

This will get fixed. It sounds to me like the judge is saying the wording is to vague in the rule. They'll just change the wording and problem solved.
I do have to agree with him though that the brave men and women who receive any form of valoruos commendation don't get it because they set out to get it. Those who receive purple hearts, silver stars, etc... get them because of the people they are and the sacrifices they are willing to make, the medals are just a by product of that.
Those of you who have receved these medals and have suffered as a result, I salute you and hope that you are on the way to becoming whole.

You are correct, these are not decorations people go out to get. The issue I have is that the medals should be held to a sacred status. I could care less if he claimed to have earned an Army Achievement Medal, those in my opinion are pointless. The fact is that if our Judicial system doesn't protect the awards earned through valorous acts, it just tarnishes the award. There is no way that it should be acceptable, in fact I have always felt that the punishment is weak all together. They should be put into a Military Prison, let them see what it is like to deal with a bunch of Psychotic Patriots.

Sent from my awesome phonalyzer....

[saviger]

my main problem with this, is that it brings into question the entire law that covers lying about Military service.

[David_3033]

my main problem with this, is that it brings into question the entire law that covers lying about Military service.

That's right I completely agree. What stops someone from getting a government job with 5 points veterans preference? All they would have to do if fake a DD214. They get credit for something they didn't acheive! I earned the title of Marine and don't think anyone should be able to claim that if they haven't earned it. I know this is more about the stolen valor act but still the same kind of argument...

[River_Rat_459]

Sad. Fucking sad.

[Amiable Horde]

I have nothing to say...

Mixed with hate and shame.

None of them deserve to be citizens.