Stolen Valor Act 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 : 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 . There were also large numbers of people fraudulently claiming to be Navy SEALS and Army Special Forces , 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 that in its judgment implied that any movement or exchange of medals was illegal . Legal challenges . " United States v . Strandlof " . Rick Strandlof , founder of Colorado Veterans Alliance , was accused of seeking to raise funds for that organization by posing as Marine Captain " Rick Duncan " and claiming to have received a Silver Star and Purple Heart in the Iraq War . In January 2010 , he challenged the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act in U . S . District Court in Denver , Colorado . Strandlof ' s attorney believed the law was too vague and that " protecting the reputation of military decorations is insufficient to survive [ strict scrutiny ] " , a level of judicial review that requires the government to justify any limitation it places on free speech . The Rutherford Institute , a Virginia - based civil liberties group , joined in the case on January 20 , 2010 . " Such expression remains within the presumptive protection afforded pure speech by the First Amendment , " the Institute ' s attorney wrote . " As such , the Stolen Valor Act is an unconstitutional restraint on the freedom of speech . " On July 16 , 2010 , a federal judge in Denver ruled the Stolen Valor Act is " facially unconstitutional " because it violates free speech and dismissed the criminal case against Strandlof who lied about being an Iraq war veteran . Strandlof , 32 , was charged with five misdemeanors related to violating the Act – specifically , making false claims about receiving military decorations . U . S . District Judge Robert E . Blackburn issued his decision rejecting the prosecution ' s argument that lying about having military medals dilutes their meaning and significance . " This wholly unsubstantiated assertion is , frankly , shocking and , indeed , unintentionally insulting to the profound sacrifices of military personnel the Stolen Valor Act purports to honor , " Blackburn wrote . " To suggest that the battlefield heroism of our servicemen and women is motivated in any way , let alone in a compelling way , by considerations of whether a medal may be awarded simply defies my comprehension . " Attorney Chris Beall , who filed an " amicus curiae " brief on behalf of the ACLU of Colorado , said the decision is remarkable . " The First Amendment protects speech we don ' t like , " he said . " We don ' t need the First Amendment for speech people like . The government cannot criminalize a statement simply because it is false , no matter how important the statement is . " Beall points out Strandlof wasn ' t charged with stealing money meant for the veterans group , adding that laws are already in place for those crimes . " That ' s plain - old , regular - vanilla everyday fraud , and we do prosecute that every day , " he said . " Congress does not need a special statute to prevent people from using false claims of valor in order to prevent fraud . " John Wagner , executive director of the Warrior Legacy Foundation , a veterans group that lobbied for Strandlof ' s prosecution , said he will push for an appeal . A spokesman for the U . S . attorney in Denver said prosecutors are reviewing the decision and haven ' t decided whether to appeal . The spokesman said that decision would be made by the U . S . Justice Department in Washington and prosecutors in Denver . On January 27 , 2012 , the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overruled the district court and reinstated the charges against Strandlof . Two judges on the three - judge panel held that false statements are not worthy of constitutional protection . In dissent , Judge Jerome Holmes wrote that the majority was reading language into the act to justify upholding it . On July 2 , 2012 , the Tenth Circuit vacated its previous opinion , writing , " In light of United States v . Alvarez , we vacate both the opinion and the judgment issued on January 27 , 2012 . " " United States v . Alvarez " . Initially the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided " Alvarez " on August 17 , 2010 , ruling the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional . Specifically , in the 2 – 1 decision , Judge Milan Smith stated for the court that lies not within traditionally unprotected subsets of false facts are subject to First Amendment protection , the Stolen Valor Act is not subject to defamation law precedent , and there ' s no compelling reason for government interest in banning such lies . " The right to speak and write whatever one chooses – including , to some degree , worthless , offensive and demonstrable untruths – without cowering in fear of a powerful government is , in our view , an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment , " Judge Smith wrote . If lying about a medal can be classified as a crime , Smith said , so many everyday lies could become criminal acts , such as lying about one ' s age , misrepresenting one ' s financial status on Facebook , or telling one ' s mother falsehoods about drinking , smoking or sex . On March 21 , 2011 , a majority of judges in the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the " Alvarez " case en banc . In the order refusing to hear the case en banc , Judge Alex Kozinski issued a lengthy concurrence , responding to critics of the decision and asserting that the First Amendment covers most varieties of lying and misrepresentation , where not otherwise unprotected by the First Amendment under the traditional view . The traditional view holds that only a certain variety of speech are exempt from standard constitutional scrutiny such as fraud , fighting words , defamation , incitement , and speech attendant to the commission of a crime . Judge Diarmuid O ' Scannlain dissented from the denial of rehearing arguing that false representations are not per se entitled to First Amendment protection . On October 17 , 2011 , the U . S . Supreme Court agreed to consider the validity of the law . On June 28 , 2012 , the Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional in a 6 to 3 decision , with Justices Scalia , Thomas and Alito dissenting . In " United States v . Alvarez " the majority held that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment . Legacy . Following the Supreme Court decision , the U . S . Department of Defense announced they would unveil a new website , valor . defense . gov , which would provide a public record of medal recipients . That site was unveiled on July 25 , 2012 . Additionally , in response Representative Joe Heck sponsored the Stolen Valor Act of 2012 to criminalize profiting by falsely claiming to have received a military medal for serving in combat , which passed with a vote of 410 to 3 ; a companion bill was sponsored by Senator Jim Webb , which passed as an amendment of the defense authorization bill . In the 113th Congress Representative Heck reintroduced the modified act , receiving 65 cosponsors .