Though I feel like a bit of a leech
With true honor just out of my reach
Screw my own pallid pallor
I’ll snatch stolen valor…
Which the SCOTUS now says is free speech!
Headline: Supreme Court rejects ‘Stolen Valor’ law, says lying about military honors isn’t a crime
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about being a military hero. In fact, the justices ruled that many lies are protected by the First Amendment.
The 6-3 ruling came in a case involving Xavier Alvarez, a former local elected official who at a 2007 water board meeting in Southern California falsely claimed that he had served as a Marine and received a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. As Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, “Lying was his habit.”
I’ll have to polish my medals.
FWIW, it’s a crime if you are still in the military.
I hadn’t thought of that, but I should expect so!
Are you also going to sharpen your smile? And then amuse yourself, playing games for awhile?
I actually earned a couple of medals, and if I see you wearing medals I know you deserve I’m going to rip them off your chest and might shove you and call you names and such, but I don’t think you need to do a couple of years in a federal prison.
The weird thing is, Improbable Joe, if I understand today’s ruling correctly, I could then have you charged with assault and battery, and the law would be on my side.
If I were you, I’d request a jury trial, and I wouldn’t stand a chance.
All members of the Veterans of Future Wars can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Ok, not “illegal” but we should still tattoo the word LIAR in big letters across his forehead.