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The Stolen Valor Act
By Kyle on 19/07/2010
Alright. Matt-Motherfucking-Multikill showed me this newspost, and I even found it was utterly stupid. Absolutely proves the American public is completely fucktarded. Read.
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DENVER — A law that makes it illegal to lie about being a war hero is unconstitutional because it violates free speech, a federal judge ruled Friday as he dismissed a case against a Colorado man who claimed he received two military medals. Rick Glen Strandlof claimed he was an ex-Marine who was wounded in Iraq and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star, but the military had no record he ever served. He was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have won a military medal. U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn dismissed the case and said the law is unconstitutional, ruling the government did not show it has a compelling reason to restrict that type of statement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Denver said prosecutors are reviewing the decision and haven’t decided whether to appeal. The spokesman said that decision would be made by the U.S. Justice Department in Washington and prosecutors in Denver. Strandlof’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a call. The law has also been challenged in California and a case now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Denver attorney Christopher P. Beall, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said the Stolen Valor Act is fatally flawed because it doesn’t require prosecutors to show anyone was harmed or defamed by the lie. “The government position was that any speech that’s false is not protected by the First Amendment. That proposition is very dangerous,” Beall said. “It puts the government in a much more powerful position to prosecute people for speaking out on things they believe to be true but turn out not to be true,” he said. Beall said the ACLU was not defending the actions Strandlof is accused of, but took issue with the principle behind the law. AMVETS leaders on Monday said they disagreed with the decision, and they called for an appeal. “The veterans’ community has demonstrated time and again the actual harm Stolen Valor does to our nation’s veterans and the way these false claims can impact public perception of our nation’s heroes,” AMVETS National Commander Duane J. Miskulin said.[url=DENVER — A law that makes it illegal to lie about being a war hero is unconstitutional because it violates free speech, a federal judge ruled Friday as he dismissed a case against a Colorado man who claimed he received two military medals. Rick Glen Strandlof claimed he was an ex-Marine who was wounded in Iraq and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star, but the military had no record he ever served. He was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have won a military medal. U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn dismissed the case and said the law is unconstitutional, ruling the government did not show it has a compelling reason to restrict that type of statement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Denver said prosecutors are reviewing the decision and haven’t decided whether to appeal. The spokesman said that decision would be made by the U.S. Justice Department in Washington and prosecutors in Denver. Strandlof’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a call. The law has also been challenged in California and a case now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Denver attorney Christopher P. Beall, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said the Stolen Valor Act is fatally flawed because it doesn’t require prosecutors to show anyone was harmed or defamed by the lie. “The government position was that any speech that’s false is not protected by the First Amendment. That proposition is very dangerous,” Beall said. “It puts the government in a much more powerful position to prosecute people for speaking out on things they believe to be true but turn out not to be true,” he said. Beall said the ACLU was not defending the actions Strandlof is accused of, but took issue with the principle behind the law. AMVETS leaders on Monday said they disagreed with the decision, and they called for an appeal. “The veterans’ community has demonstrated time and again the actual harm Stolen Valor does to our nation’s veterans and the way these false claims can impact public perception of our nation’s heroes,” AMVETS National Commander Duane J. Miskulin said. |
Source.
Now, I don't know, but this sounds a little fucked up. A guy who never served in his life, claiming to be a war hero for benefits, is apparently allowed to do that because it's unconstitutional otherwise?
Discuss.
By Multikill529 on 19/07/2010
Absolutely fucking retarded. Way to go by the letter of the law, not the spirit.
What's hilarious, is slandering, impersonating an officer, fraud, etc. are all illegal, yet committing fraud by impersonating a hero and thereby slandering everyone who actually deserves the title is perfectly legal.
What's hilarious, is slandering, impersonating an officer, fraud, etc. are all illegal, yet committing fraud by impersonating a hero and thereby slandering everyone who actually deserves the title is perfectly legal.
By Gibble00 on 20/07/2010
Agreed.
It's ridiculous to argue that it violates free speech. Their just one of the many using free speech as a cop-out. There's tons and tons of examples of censorship and whatnot that I could argue impinge on the right to free speech, it really can't be used to grant such behavior.
It's ridiculous to argue that it violates free speech. Their just one of the many using free speech as a cop-out. There's tons and tons of examples of censorship and whatnot that I could argue impinge on the right to free speech, it really can't be used to grant such behavior.
By Quikdrawjoe on 20/07/2010
sad
By WG_Keanu on 20/07/2010
Anyone know a country that's not fucked up and has good internet?
America and England are both out of the question from what I've seen in 13 years.
America and England are both out of the question from what I've seen in 13 years.
By Mickey on 20/07/2010
| QUOTE: WG_Keanu @ July 20, 2010 12:23 am) |
|
Anyone know a country that's not fucked up and has good internet? America and England are both out of the question from what I've seen in 13 years. |
Scotland is where it's at bro
By p0p0k1lla on 20/07/2010
| QUOTE: Mickey @ July 19, 2010 07:55 pm) | ||
Scotland is where it's at bro
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^not lol. thats just really REALLY stupid.
By Tnuac on 20/07/2010
That's ridiculous. 'Freedom of spech' is tossed around far too much, and a result people will take advantage of it for their own selfish reasons.
@ Mickey, i agree, Scotland seem to run themselves a hell of a lot better than their neighbours down below. Less people to take tax from, but much better services all round. There's even no bloody university fees.
@ Mickey, i agree, Scotland seem to run themselves a hell of a lot better than their neighbours down below. Less people to take tax from, but much better services all round. There's even no bloody university fees.
By Hollow_Fyre on 20/07/2010
If the founding fathers who made the American constitution had known that it would become such an insane perversion of what it was meant to be I doubt they would have even bothered.
The American public isn't to blame here, the politicians and lawmakers are...the public is just guilty of being too complacent to bother doing anything about it.
The American public isn't to blame here, the politicians and lawmakers are...the public is just guilty of being too complacent to bother doing anything about it.
By Sativas on 20/07/2010
Nowhere is perfect.
By Firelion08 on 20/07/2010
PC. Welcome to America today.
By Mmangler on 21/07/2010
To err is human to forgive is... The heck with that judges can be mistaken. The press can have a slow day and everyone is entitled to an opinion. I like Mr. Bumble...if that is the Law then the Law is an Ass.
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