Posted on 08/17/2010 6:39:02 PM PDT by markomalley
A federal appeals court panel in California says people have a right to lie about receiving military medals.
The Tuesday ruling involves the case of Xavier Alvarez, who falsely claimed in 2007 to have won a Congressional Medal of Honor. He was charged with violating the federal Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to falsely claim to have won a military medal.
Alvarez challenged the law on appeal as a violation of his free-speech rights.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with him in a 2-1 decision. The majority said there's no evidence that such lies harm anybody, and there's no compelling reason for the government to ban such lies
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Wow...what an unimaginable stretch!
If they start locking people up for simply lying everyone goes to jail. In Canada they do this now with hate speech laws that supposedly hurt the feelings of people from those speaking their opinions.
Claiming to be what you are not sounds like a lie to me and a form of fraud. To do so to be respected is, to me stolen valor.
I don’t have a problem with it, unless, as I said in another post, we make “crimes of passion” legal, too.
Other than that. Eff the aholes trying to destroy everything good in America and using our liberties to do so.
Get rid of hate crimes. Jail impersonators.
It’s scary to let the government ban lying when it also gets to decide what the truth is.
I can see it now. It’s illegal to lie about the presidents birth place. It is a fact he was born in Hawaii.
Like I said be careful what you wish for. You’re mistaken if you think the politicians will stop at this if the USSC upholds it. There will be a rush to criminalize speech that they don’t like. The First Amendment sometimes requires putting up with people who exaggerate their accomplishments without committing fraud or hurting anyone.
Evidently it’s also permissible to impersonate a judge.
If this law stood- tge government would be able to criminalize things like climate change, birtherism, etc. Very very dangerous powers for the government to have IMHO.
Is that a fact? I mean, "That's now a fact."
So fraud is now legal. . . use the lie to get elected, you are using deceit to gain something of value. Judges have become educated morons.
I don’t doubt what you say, and I am always very careful.
And you did not mention the gravest danger, which is how leftists play both ends against the middle.
They’ll defend gay marriage as a “right” while banning speech that denounces gay marriage.
I understand that.
But I also think that we are so close to losing the very core of our country that we must do what we can to defend the fundamentals of our culture.
Take care.
Not if we take back control of our government.
It’s frightening that so many patriots have accepted that premise.
I reject the premise that they control us. They control us only so far as we allow them to control us.
I think America is waking up to that Constitutional precept and that many are prepared to enforce it.
This is not a free speech issue. This is a fraud issue because the person uttering the falsehood expected to receive something of value as a result of the lie.
This ruling would suggest that it is okay for me to claim that Congress awarded me their highest honor, and that there is nothing that Congress can do about it.
-PJ
For a lie to work it has to be believed. Being a bit more discerning wouldn’t hurt especially when it come to presidential elections.
Thought you’d like to see this.
“The Tuesday ruling involves the case of Xavier Alvarez, who falsely claimed in 2007 to have won a Congressional Medal of Honor. He was charged with violating the federal Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to falsely claim to have won a military medal. Alvarez challenged the law on appeal as a violation of his free-speech rights.”
I’m surprised he fought it. I would think he’d be so ashamed after getting caught he couldn’t show his face in public.
Everybody does.
Who then should be the guardian of "Truth"? Eric Holder's Justice Department?
As much as I detest someone lying about having earned some military medal, I fear a government that would make such braggary a crime.
Congress shall make no law....
Yet, they just keep making them, don't they?
That is not the definition of fraud. Fraud has several elements including that the person defrauded must have suffered damages.
Would you favor a law which made it a crime to claim that Obama was not born in Hawaii?
Would you favor a law which made it a crime to "lie" about your congressman's voting record?
And who then would you choose to be the arbiter of "Truth"?
This was a very dangerous law.
Congress shall make no law.... unless it is something that some of us approve of.
I would hope so.
Congess shall make no law.........
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