They plan on putting a person in jail for wearing a silly costume?

I get impersonating a member of law enforcement being a crime, but what is the rationale for harm to society in impersonating a member of the military? If he uses that impersonation for personal gain, then it's fraud.

"It's no more free speech than yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theater is free speech," Georgetown University law professor Gary Solis told ABCNews.com.

Because lying about your service or what medals you've received is a lot like causing a stampede or a riot.

Solis, a former Marine prosecutor and a two-tour Vietnam veteran, said lying about military service is an affront to anybody who has proudly worn a U.S. military uniform.

"It's repulsive. It makes me want to punch someone," he said.

Super. Thankfully we don't make laws based on what makes veterans all punchy.

People who lie about military medals are "attempting to gain recognition and personal favor and tangibly better treatment on the basis of the valor of others who have sacrificed greatly, perhaps with their lives," he said.

As UNC_Samurai stated, if I try to make money by lying that I am veteran there are fraud statutes. If I get personal favor (pee-pee sucked) or recognition (BIE), then I might certainly be an asshole, and worthy of exposure, scorn and derision. But I'm no different than a guy who says he's an amateur director, or someone who lies about what he makes or what he does for a living.

We have to get away from trying to use illegal and legal as pure synonyms for right and wrong. Sometimes a legal choice is unethical and sometime an illegal choice is still the right choice.

In other words, submitter needs a bit of a refresher as to what it means.

Ennuipoet:
And I'm not sure a lie is protected speech, because if it is there a lot of perjurers who are about to have their convictions wiped out.

Perjury is a lie, done in court after specifically swearing an oath not to, not just any old lie. It's not the same as "I'm a thick 10 inches" or even "I'm the guy who found Saddam in his Spider Hole and made him suck my thick 10 inches."

/Penis

UNC_Samurai: I get impersonating a member of law enforcement being a crime, but what is the rationale for harm to society in impersonating a member of the military? If he uses that impersonation for personal gain, then it's fraud.

this

lying in most settings isn't against the law. it just means you're a liar.

Ennuipoet: EvilEgg: IF he was a witness in court

House of Tards: Perjury is a lie, done in court

Agreed, perjury might be the wrong example. Although claiming your 1st Amendments were violated because you exercised them under oath is only slightly more silly than wearing a Medal of Honor you didn't earn. I'm not trying to be all flag wavey, yeah military!, Amurkah love it or leave it, just that I think being this particular KIND of douche bag should be illegal.

I understand, and would probably have a momentary bout of blindness if someone were to give this guy a good cockpunching. I just get squicky when we let congress start playing around with what is and isn't protected speech.

They do have a bad habit of getting flag wavey and rallying around the military.

Falsely claiming you won the Medal of Honor is farking retarded. It's way too easy to verify with a simple Google search. I know if I met a Medal of Honor winner I'd head to the nearest computer to find out what the guy did.

Huh, so that's what The Convincing Savant looks like.

Damnit, should have read instead of doing a ctrl-f, SchlingFocker beat me to the same basic joke. =P

this is a very interesting case....

If I entered into a business arrangement with this man, based partly on his claims, wouldn't that be fraud on his part?

If someone entered into a social contract with him, wouldn't it still be fraud?

If I tell someone that I installed the comm towers on the Sears Tower as a reference and obtained a contract, is this fraud?

The 1st Amendment does have it limits....

maybe it's unsworn falsification to authorities, which is a crime.

by wearing a medal to which you are not entitled, not only are you saying to the public at large you earned this medal, you are also asserting to the federal military agency responsible for awarding the medal that you are qualified to wear it.

/only has a good conduct medal

meat0918: Lies are not protected speech(unless your a news organization).



That is untrue. It is not a crime to lie.

meat0918: Now if he had said "Some people say I won the Medal of Honor", he'd probably be in the clear.

Some say he won the Victoria's Cross while on assignment for the Queen in Finland, and that his teeth glow in the dark...

All we know is, he's called The Stig.

String him up by his thumbs.

/not a member of the armed forces.

meat0918: T.M.S.: meat0918: Lies are not protected speech(unless your a news organization).



That is untrue. It is not a crime to lie.

Depends on the context. For much to do with the government, lying is a crime. Telling your wife you didn't forget her birthday won't get you put in jail. Telling the someone you won the Purple Heart in order to curry favor with them could be.

Trying to get laid with the medal lie, not so much trouble. Trying to throw a little extra weight around a city council, possibly a lot more trouble.

Here are some other examples of lying that are crimes.

Perjury.

Libel.

Slander.

And the ever popular "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

All are lies, and are not protected by the First Amendment.

You said "Lies are not protected speech".

That statement is untrue.

Of course anything can be made to be illegal if you add enough qualifiers.

he should have pinned the medals to a stack of 20's then it would have been just ducky

Alvarez was a member of a California municipal water board when he claimed at a 2007 meeting that he was a former Marine with 25 years service and that he had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military honor awarded by the U.S. government. He is now in prison on an unrelated conviction for insurance fraud.

See what frauding the army gets you!!!!

Great, add 'duck the cops' to the list of ridiculous hoops I need to jump through to get some in a bar.

Good. The guy's a douchebag, but that's the sort of person the 1st Amendment exists to protect. Unconstitutional law is unconstitutional even if it only affects people you don't like.

He should have worn the Nobel Peace Prize medal instead

I won the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Can they just execute him for first degree stupidity?