Well it is the discussion because the judge ruled that the law was not constitutional.
So, tell me, Mr. Constitutional Scholar, under what section and Clause does Congress have the authority to pass a law making it a crime to pretend you were a war hero?
Everyone here seems to think this judge is an idiot, but the fact of the matter is that he seems to be more of a clear thinking constitutionalist than most of the posters on this thread. Yourself included.
So answer the questions or admit that what the judge did was constitutionally correct.
Can you think of a reason why we all shouldn't be able to do this under the constitution?
Yeah, its called the First Amendment. You can do it. You would be a creep if you did, but being a creep is not generally a federal crime.
The law is flawed because it included making verbal claims to unearned decorations a criminal offense. You and the judge agree that this is not constitutional.
I believe that the government has an obligation to protect the integrity of its honors and decoration systems. Decorations are a gift of the sovereign state to recognize acts of heroic and meritorious nature. The government can protect the physical decorations themselves from improper and fraudulent display and should do so in order to protect those whom it has recognized. The first and most important thing that the government should do is to assemble and publish a database of legitimate awards. All of the extant databases are incomplete and were built by non-government entities, they are not official, excepting the Center for Military History’s Medal of Honor database.
Just a people can be prohibited from using the Apple logo without Apple’s permission, so too can the government proscribe improper use of its decorations. Whether the penalty can be criminal or civil, I leave to others to decide.