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The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006, was a U.S. law that broadened the provisions of previous U.S. law addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals. The law made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal. If convicted, defendants might have been imprisoned for up to six months, unless the decoration lied about is the Medal of Honor, in which case imprisonment could have been up to one year. In ''United States v. Alvarez'' the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2012, that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment, striking down the law in a 6 to 3 decision. ==Description== The Act was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 19, 2005, by Representative John Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, as H.R. 3352. It was introduced in the Senate by Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, on November 10, 2005, as S. 1998. The Senate version was passed unanimously on September 7, 2006.〔 The House passed the Senate version, S. 1998, on December 6, 2006. The purpose of the Act was to strengthen the provisions of federal law (18 U.S.C. § 704) by broadening its scope and strengthening penalties. Specific new provisions in the Act included: * granting more authority to federal law enforcement officers; * broadening the law to cover false claims whereas previously an overt act had to be committed; * covering the mailing and shipping of medals; and * protecting the reputation and meaning of military heroism medals.〔〔 The Act made it illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade, or manufacture "any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces." In the 18 months after the act was enacted, the ''Chicago Tribune'' estimated there were twenty prosecutions. The number increased as awareness of the law spread. The Act was passed to address the issue of persons claiming to have been awarded military awards to which they were not entitled and exploiting their deception for personal gain. For example, as of June 2, 2006, there were only 120 living Medal of Honor recipients, but there were far more known imposters.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Living Recipients )〕 There were also large numbers of people fraudulently claiming to be Navy SEALS〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Wannabes Beware! )〕 and Army Special Forces,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Hunting the Phonies )〕 among others. The Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA), an organization of collectors, opposed the version of the bill that passed. OMSA was concerned about the changes to 18 USC〔(§ 704 )〕 that in its judgment implied that any movement or exchange of medals was illegal.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Sample Letter to Congressman )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stolen Valor Act of 2005」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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