Feb 192012
That’s the question that will go before the Supreme Court in the Alvarez case, which will test the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act, which today makes it a crime to misrepresent one’s military history. Supporters of the law say falsely claiming to be, say, a war hero is tantamount to theft (of good will afforded to military veterans over the years.) Opponents of the law fear – correctly, we think – giving bureaucrats the power to decide what is and is not legitimate speech.