They passed a Federal law making it a crime to boast of military medals that had not been issued. The ACLU is challanging this law, claiming that free speech gives scumbags the right to boast of having the Congressional Medal of Honor when no such award had occurred.
I'll agree with the ACLU that the Stolen Valor act is a bad idea, and not needed. Once exposed, such scumbags are shunned, their reputations are destroyed, nobody will do business with them, or hire them. If that won't discourage the practice, some jail time isn't going to do any good.
If the ACLU wanted to actually help the cause of free speech, they ought to look into the laws that make lying to the police a crime in itself. These laws are just catch22. If the cops care, all they have to do is grill the suspect for a couple of days, and then do a little investigation. It won't be all that hard to find something that the suspect said that ain't true. Then they got him for lying to police. Even when the cops cannot find enough evidence to bring the suspect to trial on the original charges, they have a slam dunk case of lying to the police.
To my way of thinking, this is unAmerican. The suspect can try and get off by saying anything he can think of. He isn't under oath. Locking the suspect up for trying to get off isn't fair.
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