05-11-2007, 05:33 PM
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#166
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Moderasaurus Rex
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 33,084
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First Amendment, anyone?
WSJ Law Blog:
- Under the Stolen Valor Act (18 U.S.C. Section 704), signed into law by President Bush last December, “anyone who knowingly wears, manufactures, or sells any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the U.S. armed forces, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof, except when authorized under regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”
On April 30, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan arrested Lowell Craig McGuinn for wearing service medals and badges, including the silver cross, purple heart, and silver star, that he did not earn. He pleaded not guilty. Here’s the government’s complaint and the story from the Daily News. The News says that McGuinn is the first person in the nation to be prosecuted under the new law, which broadens the provisions of a federal law that only covered the Medal of Honor.
OK, that's nuts.
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“It was fortunate that so few men acted according to moral principle, because it was so easy to get principles wrong, and a determined person acting on mistaken principles could really do some damage." - Larissa MacFarquhar
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