Your Little Lies Are Constitutionally Protected, For Now
"If false factual statements are unprotected, then the government can prosecute not only the man who tells tall tales of winning the congressional Medal of Honor, but also the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish or the dentist who assures you it won't hurt a bit. Phrases such as 'I'm working late tonight, hunny,' 'I got stuck in traffic' and 'I didn't inhale' could all be made into crimes. Without the robust protections of the 1st Amendment, the white lies, exaggerations and deceptions that are an integral part of human intercourse would become targets of censorship."
—Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals explains the why the court overturned the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which "made it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have received high military decorations." The decision is expected to go to the Supreme Court.
Gene Hackman must be relieved that they've let stand the Uncommon Valor Act of 1983.
Exactly. Now get off my back for my three Pulitzer Prizes.
"But also the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish". Hmmm….is this really a big problem on JDate?
Ladies have shared with me some of the whoppers that they have been told by JDaters, but I was unaware that falsely claiming Jewishness was one of them. Maybe Kozinski is showing a slight cultural bias here, I mean, he also mentions dentists.
I have heard of non-Jews getting on JDate, but anecdotal evidence from my friends indicates that it's mostly lady Gentiles, not men, trying to get in on the JAction.
The proprietors of Manhunt.com are furiously preparing their Amicus Brief.
the white lies, exaggerations and deceptions that are an integral part of human intercourse
But wouldn't removing protection of the fake orgasm actually benefit mankind?
You've got much bigger problems if you lied to Attila about working late.
I think we can all agree that some lies – such as falsely raising hopes of an Awl newsletter, again and again – are so damaging as to lose their constitutional protections.
White lies like "No, it was my son who put all that cow porn on my Web server."
If I put quotes around you're "a lying sack of shit" am I absolved of guilt?
Balk, if this changes, will you be my prison bitch?
Maybe he's thinking of former presidents who claim they've liberated Nazi death camps. Or served with honor in the Texas National Guard.
Are they really going to criminalize "The check is in the mail" and "I won't cum in your mouth"?
But what of prosecuting those who spell it "hunny"?