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"fake" Marine busted for guarding CA school...
- Thread starter ClydeFrog
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The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was signed into law in 2006.
I believe it survived unchallenged into 2010. In July 2010 the US District Court in Denver declared the Act unconstitutional on grounds it violated the First Amendment's protection of free speech.
March 2011: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the 2010 case (United States v. Alvarez). That court asserted that the variety of speech exempt from standard constitutional scrutiny such as fraud, fighting words, defamation, incitement, and speech attendant to the commission of a crime which are not per se entitled to First Amendment protection, does not include false representations (lying).
2010 thru 2012 there was much activity in the US District Court system on this topic. (This would be where Al Norris could summarize better than I.)
Fast forward to June 28, 2012: the SCOTUS held (6-3) that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
In short, the protection of, and the right to, free speech is directed at speech we don't like, not speech with which we agree.
In response to the SCOTUS action, DoD has established a website (valor.defense.gov) to track recipients of awards and decorations of the United States military. Eventually The Pentagon hopes to expand it to become much more comprehensive.
Once I got to looking up this topic, I was fascinated by the course of events and rationale espoused by the various courts and judges.
[Disclaimer: There are plenty of partial quotes here from Wikipedia along with corroboration from traditional news and congressional tracking websites. (CNN, etc.)]
I believe it survived unchallenged into 2010. In July 2010 the US District Court in Denver declared the Act unconstitutional on grounds it violated the First Amendment's protection of free speech.
March 2011: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the 2010 case (United States v. Alvarez). That court asserted that the variety of speech exempt from standard constitutional scrutiny such as fraud, fighting words, defamation, incitement, and speech attendant to the commission of a crime which are not per se entitled to First Amendment protection, does not include false representations (lying).
2010 thru 2012 there was much activity in the US District Court system on this topic. (This would be where Al Norris could summarize better than I.)
Fast forward to June 28, 2012: the SCOTUS held (6-3) that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
In short, the protection of, and the right to, free speech is directed at speech we don't like, not speech with which we agree.
In response to the SCOTUS action, DoD has established a website (valor.defense.gov) to track recipients of awards and decorations of the United States military. Eventually The Pentagon hopes to expand it to become much more comprehensive.
Once I got to looking up this topic, I was fascinated by the course of events and rationale espoused by the various courts and judges.
[Disclaimer: There are plenty of partial quotes here from Wikipedia along with corroboration from traditional news and congressional tracking websites. (CNN, etc.)]
Stolen Valor; firearms, "fake" Marine...
This topic has drifted from away from a firearms tone but it's a important subject. If any members are interested, I'd highly suggest the non fiction book; Stolen Valor. I read it in the late 1990s. Stolen Valor documents many of the fakes & posers out there. If you are a real US military veteran or a family member it may make you very angry.
As posted too, there are really very few Navy SEALs. The specwar of special ops units have nearly doubled since 09/11/2001 but the #s are still small.
One common way to expose a fake SEAL is to ask them their "class #". A real US Navy SEAL will know you are talking about BUD/S(the basic course required to earn the SEAL badge). All SEALs take BUD/S.
About 6 years ago, I met a young guy who claimed to be a martial arts expert & former US Navy SEAL. Among other minor goofs, he did not know what HALO was. HALO or High Altitude Low Opening is a common spec ops form of parachute jumping.
As I stated before too, many of these goofballs are harmless but be alert if you see someone like this Marine out in public. They could have real weapons or firearms & flip out on you.
In a recent security position I had to deal with a EDP(emotional disturbed person) dressed in woodland camo & had several small packs. He claimed to be on active duty in the US Army stationed at FT Carson CO. He also claimed to be a OEF veteran. The young man had no orders, ID, dog tags, or any other real military documents to support his bogus statements.
CF
This topic has drifted from away from a firearms tone but it's a important subject. If any members are interested, I'd highly suggest the non fiction book; Stolen Valor. I read it in the late 1990s. Stolen Valor documents many of the fakes & posers out there. If you are a real US military veteran or a family member it may make you very angry.
As posted too, there are really very few Navy SEALs. The specwar of special ops units have nearly doubled since 09/11/2001 but the #s are still small.
One common way to expose a fake SEAL is to ask them their "class #". A real US Navy SEAL will know you are talking about BUD/S(the basic course required to earn the SEAL badge). All SEALs take BUD/S.
About 6 years ago, I met a young guy who claimed to be a martial arts expert & former US Navy SEAL. Among other minor goofs, he did not know what HALO was. HALO or High Altitude Low Opening is a common spec ops form of parachute jumping.
As I stated before too, many of these goofballs are harmless but be alert if you see someone like this Marine out in public. They could have real weapons or firearms & flip out on you.
In a recent security position I had to deal with a EDP(emotional disturbed person) dressed in woodland camo & had several small packs. He claimed to be on active duty in the US Army stationed at FT Carson CO. He also claimed to be a OEF veteran. The young man had no orders, ID, dog tags, or any other real military documents to support his bogus statements.
CF
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