Posted on 02/06/2010 3:31:30 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
I assume, then, that if this is struck down that impersonating a law enforcement officer will also be ok?
If I walked around in a black robe, carrying a gavel and giving out legal advice, would that be protected by the First Amendment?
If I walked around in a black robe, carrying a gavel and giving out legal advice, would that be protected by the First Amendment?
I think so... and I believe I saw him walking around on the streets the other day yelling at some people... LOL...
I have no idea how many people were listening to him though.
I assume, then, that if this is struck down that impersonating a law enforcement officer will also be ok?
If you say you're acting as a police officer, I believe they will smack you down really good... LOL...
But, if you dress up as one, but don't have official badges and stuff (and you can look pretty close to it...) there might be some question there as to what someone could do about that if you walked around like that... :-)
Just don't go stopping anyone for traffic stops or something like that... LOL...
I don’t know... but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that a law is soon gonna be passed on telling “fish stories” too... hoo-boy!
Wow..”under the color of law” your question is perfect. Case closed?
ASB: “I assume, then, that if this is struck down that impersonating a law enforcement officer will also be ok?”
That would probably depend on whether or not the “officer” tries to act in an official capacity, such as pulling people over for speeding or trying to get free donuts.
... or trying to get free donuts.
Good one... LOL...
Our Constitution put the Founder’s beliefs of Natural Law into practice.
While there is a Natural Law right to freedom of speech, there is no right to shout “fire” in a crowded theater. Likewise, IMHO there is no right to deceive, which is what thieves of valor attempt to do.
I understand that making such a false claim is very offensive, and that a person making that kind of claim is probably a real dirtbag. It just doesn't seem bad enough to justify imposing criminal penalties.
There have been people arrested for dressing like a cop for a Halloween party. The costume was “too close” to a real uniform in the arresting officer’s mind.
The Stolen Valor Act isn’t about some guy saying he was a SEAL to pick up some floozy at a bar. It’s about guys who wear the medals in an official way, as if they actually earned them.
You go to a Vet reunion wearing a CIB, you better darn well have better been in a unit who participated in combat.
You put a bronze star on a job application? You better have the paperwork to back it up.
Tell the chubby redhead who has downed 3 apple-tinis at the end of the bar that you earned a medal rescuing your buddy during the Iraq invasion to get her back to your apartment? Knock yourself out.
BatGuano: “When the liar takes it too another level, for example, wearing the ribbon or the medal, this crosses the line.”
I don’t agree. Just because it’s immoral to lie about something doesn’t mean we should have a law against it. It depends on whether someone is harmed or defrauded in the process.
Sometimes we have to tolerate things we don’t like in order to protect the greater good. In this case, the greater good is protecting liberty. When restricting someone, the benefit of the doubt should go to the individual, not the state. In other words, prove there’s a vital state interest here where the lie does actual harm (not just cause veterans, of which I’m one, some discomfort).
I think it defrauds those who have actually earned the right to wear those ribbons.
What you or I think is bad law does not necessarily make it unconstitutional.
Well stated.
and then there was Jean Francois Kerry ...
“...I understand that making such a false claim is very offensive, and that a person making that kind of claim is probably a real dirtbag. It just doesn’t seem bad enough to justify imposing criminal penalties...”
Navy SEALS have a way of dealing with posers. It usually involves an “attitude adjustment”.
Check out this dickhead...
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7261240
ASB: “There have been people arrested for dressing like a cop for a Halloween party. The costume was “too close” to a real uniform in the arresting officer’s mind.”
If so, the cases should have been tossed out of court. Do you know how these arrests turned out?
ASB: “You put a bronze star on a job application? You better have the paperwork to back it up.”
Putting a bronze star (that you haven’t earned) on a job application would be fraud. That’s not the same thing as strutting around a bar with an unearned bronze star.
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