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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/23/2024 07:14 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20130&cosponId=12567
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: April 18, 2013 05:01 PM
From: Senator Andrew E. Dinniman
To: All Senate members
Subject: Second Bill to Protect the Integrity of the Medal of Honor
 

I will soon introduce the second of two bills I have authored to protect the Medal of Honor against its diminution by those who falsely claim to be recipients of our nation’s highest military honor.

Whereas the bill I sought your support for in my April 16 co-sponsorship memo calls for the Pa. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to create an official database of Medal of Honor recipients to make claims more easily verifiable, this memo seeks your support for my second bill, which takes aim at the false claim itself.

The U.S. Congress sought to address this problem through passage of Congress’ Stolen Valor Act of 2006. The Stolen Valor Act made it a federal crime to knowingly issue false claims about one’s receipt of military awards and decorations for heroism, including and particularly the Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 struck down the law on free speech grounds.

In so doing, the Justices recommended how such legislation might be fashioned without violating the First Amendment. In addition to recommending the creation of an official government database, they also recommended that any false claim about receiving the Medal of Honor only be punishable if the misstatement benefits the impersonator or hurts the victim of the falsehood.

In response, my bill only makes illegal one’s falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient if the person making the claim receives a financial benefit or if the person relying on its accuracy suffers a financial detriment.

The need to protect against military honors again false claims has been eloquently stated by retired Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, a Medal of Honor recipient who is scheduled to speak at the Soldiers’ and Sailors Grove behind the State Capitol on May 1.

I hope you join me in co-sponsoring both my bills protecting the integrity of the Medal of Honor.

Introduced as SB883