Stolen Valor Act Ruled as “Unconstitutional” by Judge!
http://blog.usnavyseals.com/2010/07/stolen-valor-act-ruled-as-%E2%80%9Cunconstitutional%E2%80%9D-by-judge.html________________________
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A man from Colorado who was masquerading as a hero had a lucky break with the federal judge who handled his case, according to a feature on the Navy Times.
Rick Glen Strandlof reportedly made claims that he was a former Marine who had been wounded while serving in Iraq. He said that he was the recipient of the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, but the military did not have any record that he was in the service. Because of this he was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which stipulates that it was a crime to claim that one has won a military medal when it was untrue.
The case, however, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn, who ruled the law was unconstitutional. Blackburn said that the government was unable to show a compelling reason to restrict such a statement. Prosecutors, however, are reviewing the decision, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Denver. They have not decided whether they will file an appeal. The decision to appeal, according to the spokesman, will be made by the prosecutors as well as the U.S. Justice Department in Washington.
The Stolen Valor Act, according to the feature, is also being challenged in California as well as in a case that is now before the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals.
Denver attorney Christopher Beall shared the opinion that the Stolen Valor Act is flawed, saying: “The government position was that any speech that’s false is not protected by the First Amendment. That proposition is very dangerous. It puts the government in a much more powerful position to prosecute people for speaking out on things they believe to be true but turn out not to be true.”
Granting that the Stolen Valor Act is flawed, what changes are necessary to fix this flaw? Because the bottom line is that hero wannabes should not be allowed to make false claims.
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Mons is now safe from prosecution.
