Wearing unearned military medals is free speech

[SassyIrishLass]

There are few things lower than doing this and Stolen Valor. If you never walked the walk do NOT pretend you have.

Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution

SAN FRANCISCO (Tribune News Service) — A federal law that prohibited people from wearing military medals they didn’t earn is unconstitutional for the same reason as a law that made it a crime to lie about earning a medal, a federal appeals court ruled Monday: It’s a falsehood that is protected by freedom of speech.
In an 8-3 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the now-repealed law against wearing unearned military decorations was a ban on a type of “symbolic speech.” Although the government can forbid falsehoods that cause tangible harm, like fraud or perjury, the Constitution restricts government regulation of expression based solely on its content, the court said.
“Suppressing a symbolic communication threatens the same First Amendment harm as suppressing a written communication,” Judge Sandra Ikuta said in the majority opinion. “Wearing a medal has no purpose other than to communicate a message.”

[FONT=Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif]Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution[/FONT]

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

The court made the correct ruling.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

It's BS. If you never served you have no business wearing the medals

 

[Syriusly]

There are few things lower than doing this and Stolen Valor. If you never walked the walk do NOT pretend you have.]

I agree - but I don't see that the court is wrong.

There is lots of speech I object to- but still free speech.

 

[martybegan]

The court made the correct ruling.

What you can go after is their use of the false medals to somehow make money. If they get a material benefit from the fake medals, that's fraud.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

It's BS. If you never served you have no business wearing the medals

Agreed, but that doesn't mean it should be a crime.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

The court made the correct ruling.

What you can go after is their use of the false medals to somehow make money. If they get a material benefit from the fake medals, that's fraud.

You ever watch any of the Stolen Valor videos? A bunch of losers pretending to be someone, it's sad and pathetic. Best one out there is the one where a fraud ran into an Airborne Ranger, the Ranger literally bitch slapped the fraud.

 

[Skylar]

The court made the correct ruling.

Yeah, wearing false metals falls under 'loathsome and spectacularly disrespectful'. But illegal? No.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

It's BS. If you never served you have no business wearing the medals

Agreed, but that doesn't mean it should be a crime.

We'll have to disagree, my father earned his and for someone to do this is like spitting in his face and on his service

 

[mdk]

As much as I find those valor stealing clowns to be repugnant, I think the court made the correct ruling. Now if you attempt to use that fraud to make money than that is a whole different fox hunt.

 

[Skylar]

It's BS. If you never served you have no business wearing the medals

Agreed, but that doesn't mean it should be a crime.

We'll have to disagree, my father earned his and for someone to do this is like spitting in his face and on his service

There's plenty of things that are loathsome....but not crimes. This is one of them. I would never wear such a metal I didn't earn out of respect to men like your father. But making it a criminal charge?

No. The court made the right call. There is a certain freedom to be an asshole.

 

[pwjohn]

It's BS. If you never served you have no business wearing the medals

There are few things lower than doing this and Stolen Valor. If you never walked the walk do NOT pretend you have.

Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution

SAN FRANCISCO (Tribune News Service) — A federal law that prohibited people from wearing military medals they didn’t earn is unconstitutional for the same reason as a law that made it a crime to lie about earning a medal, a federal appeals court ruled Monday: It’s a falsehood that is protected by freedom of speech.
In an 8-3 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the now-repealed law against wearing unearned military decorations was a ban on a type of “symbolic speech.” Although the government can forbid falsehoods that cause tangible harm, like fraud or perjury, the Constitution restricts government regulation of expression based solely on its content, the court said.
“Suppressing a symbolic communication threatens the same First Amendment harm as suppressing a written communication,” Judge Sandra Ikuta said in the majority opinion. “Wearing a medal has no purpose other than to communicate a message.”

[FONT=Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif]Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution[/FONT]

Hardly worth mentioning.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I agree this is BS and shouldn't be allowed. It is fraud and fraud is illegal. If you can be arrested AND convicted of impersonating an officer/cop, you should also be arrested & convicted of impersonating military. Impersonating is the same as defrauding and neither is protected under the constitution.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

The court made the correct ruling.

Don't you think the person is wrong though, it's like they're making fun of actual military people.

 

[Skylar]

I agree this is BS and shouldn't be allowed. It is fraud and fraud is illegal. If you can be arrested AND convicted of impersonating an officer/cop, you should also be arrested & convicted of impersonating military. Impersonating is the same as defrauding and neither is protected under the constitution.

Its lying. Fraud requires injury on the party being deceived. And being offended isn't 'injury'.

If they lied to say, get military benefits....that's fraud.

If they lied because they want to pretend they were a soldier....that's being an asshole.

 

[Skylar]

The court made the correct ruling.

Don't you think the person is wrong though, it's like they're making fun of actual military people.

I think everyone agrees that the person faking the medals was a mega-douche. But being an asshole isn't a crime in and of itself. If it were there wouldn't be prisons enough to hold offenders.

 

[CremeBrulee]

I agree this is BS and shouldn't be allowed. It is fraud and fraud is illegal. If you can be arrested AND convicted of impersonating an officer/cop, you should also be arrested & convicted of impersonating military. Impersonating is the same as defrauding and neither is protected under the constitution.

That would land almost every comedian in the country in jail.

 

[deltex1]

There are few things lower than doing this and Stolen Valor. If you never walked the walk do NOT pretend you have.

Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution

SAN FRANCISCO (Tribune News Service) — A federal law that prohibited people from wearing military medals they didn’t earn is unconstitutional for the same reason as a law that made it a crime to lie about earning a medal, a federal appeals court ruled Monday: It’s a falsehood that is protected by freedom of speech.
In an 8-3 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the now-repealed law against wearing unearned military decorations was a ban on a type of “symbolic speech.” Although the government can forbid falsehoods that cause tangible harm, like fraud or perjury, the Constitution restricts government regulation of expression based solely on its content, the court said.
“Suppressing a symbolic communication threatens the same First Amendment harm as suppressing a written communication,” Judge Sandra Ikuta said in the majority opinion. “Wearing a medal has no purpose other than to communicate a message.”

[FONT=Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif]Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution[/FONT]

Just like now having a dick has no purpose but to say you're a woman. And we wonder why we are losing.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

The court made the correct ruling.

Don't you think the person is wrong though, it's like they're making fun of actual military people.

I think everyone agrees that the person faking the medals was a mega-douche. But being an asshole isn't a crime in and of itself. If it were there wouldn't be prisons enough to hold offenders.

Well yes, we agree.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

There are few things lower than doing this and Stolen Valor. If you never walked the walk do NOT pretend you have.

Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution

SAN FRANCISCO (Tribune News Service) — A federal law that prohibited people from wearing military medals they didn’t earn is unconstitutional for the same reason as a law that made it a crime to lie about earning a medal, a federal appeals court ruled Monday: It’s a falsehood that is protected by freedom of speech.
In an 8-3 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the now-repealed law against wearing unearned military decorations was a ban on a type of “symbolic speech.” Although the government can forbid falsehoods that cause tangible harm, like fraud or perjury, the Constitution restricts government regulation of expression based solely on its content, the court said.
“Suppressing a symbolic communication threatens the same First Amendment harm as suppressing a written communication,” Judge Sandra Ikuta said in the majority opinion. “Wearing a medal has no purpose other than to communicate a message.”

[FONT=Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif]Court: Wearing unearned military medal is protected by Constitution[/FONT]

Just like now having a dick has no purpose but to say you're a woman. And we wonder why we are losing.