On May 20, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 258, the Stolen Valor Act, whose provisions match a California state law authored by Congressman Paul Cook when he was a state assembly member. Dan Stork has the background…
In June 2012, the United States Supreme Court struck down the original Stolen Valor Act of 2005, declaring the law was in violation of the First Amendment. That law made it a federal misdemeanor to represent oneself falsely as having received U.S. military decorations or medals. The Court determined that simply lying about one’s military service and accomplishments qualifies as protected speech under the constitution. The new Federal legislation, which was introduced by Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nevada), and passed the House by a vote of 390-3, resolves the Constitutional issues by requiring a so-called “intent to defraud” provision – meaning the violator had the intention of obtaining money, property, and other tangible benefit as the result of a false claim. When he was a state lawmaker, Congressman Paul Cook authored California’s state Stolen Valor Act, which was signed into law. Cook’s state law included an “intent to defraud” provision and has not been challenged in court.
