I'm sorry but Thomas is just wrong. First of all, he is not supposed to use the military uniform to support or to endorse his political cause. He should not be at a political rally in uniform and it should not be a part of political expression. Second, he is not an active duty Marine. Unless he is retired, he does not have the auhtority to wear his military uniform unless expressly authorized.
You can wear your uniform if you separate from the service, I see people do that all the time.
You are wrong. There are a few exceptions but I am quite sure they do not apply here. Unless he is retired he is not authorized to wear it without some very strict exceptions. Furthermore, if he were active duty he would not be authorized to wear it in that capacity.
http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/10C45.txt said:Except as otherwise provided by law, no person except a member of
the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as the case may be, may
wear -
(1) the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the
Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps; or
(2) a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive
part of the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine
Corps.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), when an
enlisted member of an armed force is discharged, the exterior
articles of uniform in his possession that were issued to him,
other than those that he may wear from the place of discharge to
his home under section 772(d) of this title, shall be retained for
military use.
(b) When an enlisted member of an armed force is discharged for
bad conduct, undesirability, unsuitability, inaptitude, or
otherwise than honorably -
(1) the exterior articles of uniform in his possession shall be
retained for military use;
(2) under such regulations as the Secretary concerned
prescribes, a suit of civilian clothing and an overcoat when
necessary, both to cost not more than $30, may be issued to him;
and
(3) if he would be otherwise without funds to meet his
immediate needs, he may be paid an amount, fixed by the Secretary
concerned, of not more than $25.
(c) When an enlisted member of the Army National Guard or the Air
National Guard who has been called into Federal service is released
from that service, the exterior articles of uniform in his
possession shall be accounted for as property issued to the Army
National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, of
the State or territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia of
whose Army National Guard or Air National Guard he is a member, as
prescribed in section 708 of title 32.
Sec. 772. When wearing by persons not on active duty authorized
-STATUTE-
(a) A member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard
may wear the uniform prescribed for the Army National Guard or the
Air National Guard, as the case may be.
(b) A member of the Naval Militia may wear the uniform prescribed
for the Naval Militia.
(c) A retired officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine
Corps may bear the title and wear the uniform of his retired grade.
(d) A person who is discharged honorably or under honorable
conditions from the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may wear
his uniform while going from the place of discharge to his home,
within three months after his discharge.
(e) A person not on active duty who served honorably in time of
war in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the
title, and, when authorized by regulations prescribed by the
President, wear the uniform, of the highest grade held by him
during that war.
(f) While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or
Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production
may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not
tend to discredit that armed force.
(g) An officer or resident of a veterans' home administered by
the Department of Veterans Affairs may wear such uniform as the
Secretary of the military department concerned may prescribe.
(h) While attending a course of military instruction conducted by
the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, a civilian may wear the
uniform prescribed by that armed force if the wear of such uniform
is specifically authorized under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of the military department concerned.
(i) Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Air Force may
prescribe, a citizen of a foreign country who graduates from an Air
Force school may wear the appropriate aviation badges of the Air
Force.
(j) A person in any of the following categories may wear the
uniform prescribed for that category:
(1) Members of the Boy Scouts of America.
(2) Members of any other organization designated by the
Secretary of a military department.
Think before you speak. Look up before you write.
Mike
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