[20361]

Probably opening a can of worms.
There are so many Veterans and active duty Military here, I thought I would see how you feel about it.

SCOTUS is going to decide if the law is or is not Constitutional.

Personally, I don't see any difference between it and impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer, which is illegal.
How can impersonating a Veteran or member of the Armed Forces and claiming unearned awards be any different?
ESPECIALLY the Medal of Honor.

 

[Keith4001r]

How can someone claim to be what they're not? A Veteran? They should have served. A CMH recipient? They should have their a** handed to them. It should be illegal to impersonate a Veteran. SCOTUS should (but probably won't) get this one right.

 

[MilProGuy]

There definitely should be some stringent consequences for someone fraudulently passing himself/herself off as a veteran, retiree, or active duty member of the Armed Forces. Whatever the punishment for impersonating a law enforcement officer should also apply to them.

 

[xstuntman]

Almost everday I see Barry on tv impersonating the Commander In Chief yet he still gets away with it.
Yep, can of worms.

 

[Shinsou]

How is the Stolen Valor Act any less Constitutional than the Patriot Act?

 

[Lance0812]

So who petitioned the court?
Someone who can no longer get dates or wow his friends by claiming to be a decorated S.E.A.L?

 

[Czechbikr]

I don't know about this one. While it is repugnant to me that someone would claim honors not due them, it is very much a free speech issue. Should that same person derive economic benefit from it it then becomes a fraud issue and should be prosecuted with extra vigor and penalty.

To have it stand as a law against bragging really is a can of worms that any Attorney can expand to those who inflate their job resume, physical prowess, personal property possessions, etc. Do we really want the government sticking their noses so far into a citizens' business?

 

[Czechbikr]

ON THE OTHER HAND, we could have prosecuted John Kerry for bartering his medals by throwing them over a fence in exchange for notoriety.

 

[MilProGuy]

I don't know about this one. While it is repugnant to me that someone would claim honors not due them, it is very much a free speech issue. Should that same person derive economic benefit from it it then becomes a fraud issue and should be prosecuted with extra vigor and penalty.

To have it stand as a law against bragging really is a can of worms that any Attorney can expand to those who inflate their job resume, physical prowess, personal property possessions, etc. Do we really want the government sticking their noses so far into a citizens' business?

You've made some excellent points, Frank.

I think I'll adjust my way of thinking on this one, thanks to your insightful remarks.

 

[wiredgeorge]

I think I am torn on this like Czechbikr; I think if the person is just crowing and lying to impress, it is one thing; the person is a fool but no real damage to real heroes has occured. If the person uses a false service record for gain, he is defrauding someone and trying to GAIN something he doesn't deserve and should not be legally allowed to do so. I am not sure how this law is written or what it actually says so will trust the Court to get it right since I probably can't understand the legal tech language. I am a vet. I received a few awards for my service but don't really care if some idiot lies about having served and decorated. I wasn't in the service because it was my idea anyway hehe (DRAFT 'EM ALL AND YOU HAVE A BETTER CROSS SECTION OF AMERICANS)

 

[AirForceShooter]

I figure people have been doing t his from the beginning of time.
It won't ever stop.

Should it be protected by the 1st? Probably.

AFS

 

[Maximumbob54]

If they remove it then I still reserve the right to punch the next ****-**** square in the face at a gun show if it turns out he is a liar, cheating, fake out, douche.

 

[Lance0812]

ON THE OTHER HAND, we could have prosecuted John Kerry for bartering his medals by throwing them over a fence in exchange for notoriety.

As I recall the stories from the 2004 campaign, he threw medals over the fence but they were not his own.

 

[MilProGuy]

As I recall the stories from the 2004 campaign, he threw medals over the fence but they were not his own.

As I recall, the weasel stated, after much pressure, that he actually threw his "ribbons" over the fence, but kept his medals.

Dude was really making a statement back then, huh? Wonder why, if he was serious, that he didn't throw his medals away too?

 

[MilProGuy]

Did Kerry Discard Vietnam Medals? - ABC News

:judge:Here's the link.

uke:

 

[Divebum]

Probably opening a can of worms.
There are so many Veterans and active duty Military here, I thought I would see how you feel about it.

SCOTUS is going to decide if the law is or is not Constitutional.

Personally, I don't see any difference between it and impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer, which is illegal.
How can impersonating a Veteran or member of the Armed Forces and claiming unearned awards be any different?
ESPECIALLY the Medal of Honor.

Agreed. As a Vietnam Vet, it burns me to hear war stories for people who obviously were not in combat. It really degrades those of us who were. Most of us were not in it for the glory - God knows there's not a lot of glory getting shot at, rained on, up to your butt in mud, mosquitoes the size of small private aircraft, C-Rats (specially the ham and mf's), and all the other crap that goes with being in a combat zone. But to paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, "Don't describe being in a combat zone if you haven't been there," and don't claim awards that you don't deserve. I'm distressed that the government feels the necessity of creating a Stolen Valor Act, and I'm not sure the government will do that great of a job of policing it. The SEAL's have an organization which tracks down wannabes and those who say they are SEALs but are not, and call them to account, publicize them and hold them up for public ridicule. Maybe something like that would work.

Guess I'd best jump off the soap box with my rant button to the OFF position.

 

[Divebum]

ON THE OTHER HAND, we could have prosecuted John Kerry for bartering his medals by throwing them over a fence in exchange for notoriety.

News flash. I don't know how the hell Kerry got a bronze star for fishing someone out of the water. I was on PBR's on the Bassac River. We fished buddies out of the water whenever the situation called for it. No medals for that. But we knew other crews would do the same for us if the situation warranted it. John Kerry should have been prosecuted for impersonating an officer and a gentleman (or for that matter, a human being). He, in my humble opinion, was neither. And that comes from a former enlisted man.

 

[RevolverFan]

I am mixed a bit on this one too. There has been a ton of press around here on the issue, some good some bad. I heard the free speech issue that Czech mentioned for the first time yesterday, and it kind of makes sense.

At the same time I am appaled that anyone would try to falsify their time in service. They have no one but themselves to blame if they were not able to reach all of their goals in the military. As such, I think that some kind of penalty should be in order. Couldn't the military do some kind of back-dated UCMJ kind of thing? The military penalty would be far worse, and the deterrent effect even greater. I sure know that the Army tried to scare us to death with the UCMJ, and it worked!

 

[GunsandNoses]

I say if they steal the honor, they should be forced to earn it.
GO TO BUDS!!!

And throw in the old school E&E/POW training.

 

[chicharrones]

If a person is lying about being a honorably served soldier or officer, that person is counting on some sort of benefit. Whether free beer, free lunch, false praise from others, or even a job offer that wouldn't have come their way. I've seen it first hand years ago with a fictitious Navy SEAL story used by an acquaintance over several years before the internet was around.

Then you have people that carry it as far as possible by building a career because of their lies.

Here is a recent story. I hope to God that he actually helped the people he was working with.
Veterans mentor says he lied about his military record - Houston Chronicle