PA lawmakers; background checks for military awards
The Allentown/Lehigh Valley Morning Call writes that Bucks County Lawmakers want to apply gun control laws to the purchase of military awards. Of course, there are already laws against being a phony soldier, but, as with gun control laws, prosecutors don’t want to do their jobs, so lawmakers want to write even more laws to make up for incompetent and lazy government employees.
Sean Schafer, policy director for state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, R-Bucks, and Dan Fraley, Bucks County’s director of Veterans Affairs, agree. They plan to do something about it, too.
Schafer pointed out that civilians may treat perceived military members differently based on their appearance. He is investigating possible legislation to restrict Pennsylvania civilians’ ability to buy military honors.
“If we forbid stolen valor, why do we allow people to sell stolen valor?” Schafer said.
There are no regulations on the sale of military items such as the 30 or so military ribbons, badges and awards, including those awarded for valor. That means authentic military uniforms, badges, medals and other military accessories, including Purple Hearts and Silver Stars, are sold in surplus Army/Navy stores and online. Good replica awards are enough to fool most civilians, military officials said.
So, I guess there’s going to be a series of background check laws that will only affect legal valor owners. It will create an illegal trade that will only add to the excitement of stolen valor as the valor thieves buy their third award of the CIB out of the trunk of a car in a dark parking lot. Or the less adventurous will just purchase their HALO wings from an overseas pirate website. And there will also be the Gun Show loophole that will have to be closed.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that some dealers in the valor trade already self-police and don’t sell to valor thieves, like our friends at My Service Pride.
We can continue to write more laws to prevent the purchase of illegal awards and badges…or we can make the prosecutors do their f***ing jobs. I guess it just makes us feel better to write more stupid laws than expect people to do the jobs that they’re hired to do.
Category: Stolen Valor Act
Who needs to buy them? Just get a bunch of gedunk medals at the local surplus store, some fabric glue and ribbon at a fabric store, set up a bunch of pin-ons of your own invention. It’s a lot more fun and keeps people guessing.
You can even make up your own rank like general corporal and fool people into buying you drinks at the local Hooters with that stuff.
Medal making is a proud tradition in San Antonio.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/fiesta/slideshow/2014-Fiesta-medals-82723/photo-6083404.php
“general corporal”
Ex, thanks a lot. Now you’ve outed me and I’ll never get a free drink again…;-)
OC
My pleasure, OC.
How in the name of all things Holy do they expect to be able to enforce that? Criminal background is easy to verify… verifying someones service so that they can buy a piece of ribbon?
We have enough trouble transferring information between VA and DoD… show a DD-214? Sure, like we have not seen our fair share of incorrect ones, or outright forgeries.
Just stupid.
(sigh) There are times I think that requiring a public IQ test before someone could run for office would be a good idea. Then I think about places like Hah-vaard and UC/Berkeley and I realize that would guarantee essentially nothing.
But I don’t think it’s too much to ask that public servants not be too dumb to to pour p!ss out of a boot. This idea IMO qualifies as exactly that.
Sheesh.
Hondo, I think what happens is that right after the election, perfectly sane electees are taken somewhere for the frontal lobotomy.
That’s why they don’t get sworn in ’til January. It takes that long to heal.
OC
Well, that’s asinine. I’m not sure how you’re going to regulate a sale on e-bay or Craig’s Lis, and how many cash register jockeys at Bob’s Army Navy know what a DD-214, award certificate, or orders look like?
I agree.
You know, if you want to collect medals for your own enjoyment–maybe you’re a military history buff, what’s wrong with that? Or maybe you have an ancestor’s military records and want to memorialize that person with the records and replica medals. Or maybe you just get your rocks off eyeballing the bling. So what? Do it until your eyes pop out. None of that has a blessed thing to do with wearing medals you didn’t earn.
Next on the list: Presentation of a current military ID to the barber before getting a “high and tight”.
While we appreciate the effort to shut down valor thieves, this is a rather misguided and unenforceable way to do it.
Heck, didn’t seem to make a bit of difference to MY barber!
Laws are like magic spells. They only work on those that believe.
And people ALWAYS forget to click their ruby slippers together three times.
There isn’t a problem that can’t be solved by more laws. Just don’t try to enforce them, that’s racist. /sarc
Robert Heinlein, in writing his Lazarus Long stories, said that more laws a nation has, the less civilized it is.
So here you go:
Don’t lie.
Don’t cheat.
Don’t steal.
Don’t mess around with someone else’s signif other.
Don’t be greedy, jealous or stupid.
Don’t commit murder.
Respect other people, even more if they gave birth to you. (You should have to carry that load.)
Choose your own spiritual path, but don’t inflict it on others.
Take a day off regularly to appreciate the world around you.
Treat other people the way you want them to treat you.
Be nice to animals. They can kill you and eat you, too.
That should do it.
I once read a short story in which anyone who ran for office and got elected to it was stoned to death afterwards and people went on about their business. Sounds like a civilized society to me.
What about awards that aren’t real? Will this stop the Hoth Campaign Ribbon or Battle of Endor Medals? How about the Camp Khitomer Service Medal? Distingusihed PowerPoint Medal?