Stolen Valor Act

[Subdeacon Joe]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/06/obama-signs-stolen-valor-act-into-law/

 

If you lie about being awarded military honors for profit, you can
now be subject to criminal prosecution, according to a new law signed by
President Obama today.

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013, introduced in January by Rep. Joe Heck
(R-Nev.), “makes it a Federal crime for an individual to fraudulently
hold oneself out to be a recipient of any of several specified military
decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property, or
other tangible benefit,” the White House said today, announcing the
signing.

The law was the latest attempt by the government to help protect real
military heroes from phonies. The original iteration of the bill, the
Stolen Valor Act of 2005, had been in effect for six years before the
Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional.

At the time, the law was written to say it was a crime simply to lie
about military service and awards — a broad characterization the Supreme
Court said violated a person’s First Amendment right to free speech.