Supreme Court Strikes Down Stolen Valor: You Can Lie About Military Service

abcnews.go.com ^ | 6/28/12 | LEE FERRAN

[HiTech RedNeck]

The fraud issue comes with the particular purpose to which the disguise is put. Mere strutting around shouldn’t be actionable as fraud, but when the person starts accepting perks intended for genuine veterans he has stepped through a hole in the thin ice.

[Stat Man]

"Well, there’s no such actual thing as “stealing valor”. Stolen from whom? Those that are legitimately awarded honors for genuine acts of valor are not diminished in any way by some drunk in a bar claiming to be a SEAL with a navy cross. The drunk dishonors himself, and himself only."

I disagree. The valor is stolen from the reputation of real SEAL's. They ARE diminished, because a person who sees someone he believes to be a SEAL behaving badly, will, naturally, be inclined to question the character of all SEAL's. Especially if he sees such behavior more frequently. Hey, we all know, you shouldn't "stereotype" and assume everyone in a group is bad, just because you see one bad apple. But when you begin seeing repeated instances, you can't help but draw conclusions.

"But it serves no purpose and protects no one to send him to jail for it."

Seems to me like it would serve the purpose of making the behavior pretty-near non-existent. The losers would figure out another well-respected profession to fraudulently claim to be, but probably a private one, not needing or deserving laws to protect their reputation. Now, if the guy that spawned this case is the only guy in 100 years to do it, it's probably not necessary.

BTW, I know it's unusual to respond to a post after so much time has passed, but I've been away from FR for a variety of reasons, and just now read your post. Hope you don't mind.

[Stat Man]

Oops. Sorry. My mistake. I had indeed already responded.