More than 1.8 million Purple Heart medals have been awarded. The medal recognizes the sacrifices and contributions of service members seriously wounded or killed in enemy action. (Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office)
(Tribune News Service) — The Louisiana Legislature is considering a bill to make falsely claiming a military honor a crime — a move to align state statutes with federal law.
The legislation, authored by State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, would make it illegal to claim to have served with the U.S. military or to have received a military honor.
The proposed law, SB 51, applies specifically to claims involving the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
Pretending to have earned one of these distinctions would become an offense punishable by a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison. The law would apply to someone duplicating such an award, or someone who once held it but has since had it revoked. The bill also stipulates that anyone falsely claiming to have served in the military could be punished by up to a $10,000 fine or up to five years in prison.
Kleinpeter said he penned the bill after being encouraged by Charlton Meginley, the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.
The two men testified in committee that Louisiana is one of 15 states that does not currently have a stolen valor statute. While the offense exists in federal law, Kleinpeter said Louisiana needs their own statute because federal authorities might not have the bandwidth to pursue every case.
A federal stolen valor law was ruled unconstitutional in U.S. v. Alvarez in 2012, with the U.S. Supreme Court finding that the falsity of the defendant’s claims to be a veteran did not forfeit his First Amendment right to make those claims. A revised version of the Stolen Valor Act was passed the following year.
Meginley gave an example from Louisiana of a man falsely claiming to have received a Purple Heart, including by having a license plate referencing the honor, and who received money through these claims.
While not mentioned by name, Meginley also referenced the ousting of former East Baton Rouge Parish Judge Tiffany Foxworth Roberts, whose campaign claims to have been a veteran of Desert Storm as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed to her being taken off the bench late last year.
“I’m very proud of my record, I know the 252,000 veterans from the state of Louisiana are very proud of their record,” Meginley said. “My service means something and their service means something. This is just a way of protecting the integrity of ones military service.”
The bill passed a committee and is set to be heard by the Senate.
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