Yes, ladies and gentlemen the headline for today is “Supreme Court Rules Stolen Valor Act Unconstitutional”!
Today the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to falsely claim receipt of military decorations or medals and provides an enhanced penalty if the Congressional Medal of Honor is involved, to be invalid under the First Amendment.
According to the syllabus:
JUSTICE BREYER, joined by JUSTICE KAGAN, concluded that because the Stolen Valor Act, as presently drafted, works disproportionate constitutional harm, it fails intermediate scrutiny, and thus violates the First Amendment.
The case that brought this Act into question was the case of UNITED STATES v. ALVAREZ. Alvarez claimed he was a retired Marine of 25 years who, back in 1987, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He stated this claim while introducing himself at his first public meeting as a board member of the Three Valley Water District Board back in 2007.
The full opinion of the court can be found on the United States Supreme Court website.
What are your thoughts on this latest ruling? First, it was ruled that it is ok to protest at Military funerals and now it has been ruled that it is ok to claim to have been a war hero.
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