Illegal? Yeah, We Gots Lots uh Illegal Stuff Here!
OK, sorry to invoke the vernacular in the title, but it leads me right into another title: Title 18 of the US Code. Someone at work and I were talking about how to dispose of an old flag - landed me here at US Code Title 18. Then, Ray Nagin had his picture taken wearing a US Army General’s uniform - hmm, Title 18 again. And today, Amy Proctor posts about the melon-heed (use Mike Myers voice from So I Married an Axe Murderer) that was interviewed regarding the US Military and attrocities in Iraq - dang if ya don’t land at Title 18 for what needs to happen.
There are sooo many sections in Title 18! Now I KNOW what these people spend all day doing in DC! Yikes!
If you want to know about what we should do to people who deface or treat Old Glory with disrespect, US Code Title 18 Section 700 is the place to go. Read on:
PART I–CRIMES
CHAPTER 33–EMBLEMS, INSIGNIA, AND NAMES
Sec. 700. Desecration of the flag of the United States; penalties
(a)(1) Whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(2) This subsection does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the disposal of a flag when it has become worn or soiled.
(b) As used in this section, the term “flag of the United States” means any flag of the United States, or any part thereof, made of any substance, of any size, in a form that is commonly displayed.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to deprive any State, territory, possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of jurisdiction over any offense over which it would have jurisdiction in the absence of this section.
(d)(1) An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United States from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order issued by a United States district court ruling upon the constitutionality of subsection (a).
(2) The Supreme Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question, accept jurisdiction over the appeal and advance on the docket and expedite to the greatest extent possible.
And, for those that think it is OK to wear the uniform of anyone, any rank, in the US Military, well, Title 18 Section 702 is your source. Read on:
Sec. 702. Uniform of armed forces and Public Health Service
Whoever, in any place within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the Canal Zone, without authority, wears the uniform or a distinctive part thereof or anything similar to a distinctive part of the uniform of any of the armed forces of the United States, Public Health Service or any auxiliary of such, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
And, just for effect, I found out that there are some people out there wearing medals, ones that aren’t just handed out for fun people, or discussing their “honor” and are actually impersonating a member of the US Military. We can go to the scum layers for these types. Well, the House introduced an amendment to Title 18 Section 704 whereby a stiffer wording was to be employed to ensnare these vermin. To get the current flavor prior to the amendment, read on:
Sec. 704. Military medals or decorations
(a) In General.–Whoever knowingly wears, manufactures, or sells 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, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof, except when authorized under regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
(b) Congressional Medal of Honor.–
(1) In general.–If a decoration or medal involved in an offense under subsection (a) is a Congressional Medal of Honor, in lieu of the punishment provided in that subsection, the offender shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
(2) Definitions.–
(A) As used in subsection (a) with respect to a Congressional Medal of Honor, “sells” includes trades, barters, or exchanges for anything of value.
(B) As used in this subsection, “Congressional Medal of Honor” means–
(i) a medal of honor awarded under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 10 or section 491 of title 14;
(ii) a duplicate medal of honor issued under section 3754, 6256, or 8754 of title 10 or section 504 of title 14; or
(iii) a replacement of a medal of honor provided under section 3747, 6253, or 8747 of title 10 or section 501 of title 14.
Pretty dang black and white there, eh?
So, when is someone gonna go tap ole Ray Nagin on the shoulder and ask him to turn himself in for impersonating a commissioned officer? I suspect, well, never - white guilt and all.
TAGS: Fix4RSO, Milblog, Military, Illegal, Title18, Kudzu
May 25th, 2006 at 6:00
Awesome! I’m going to mention you in my update. Great info. Thanks for doing the work. Very helpful stuff!
May 25th, 2006 at 9:01
Amazing how accessible this info is if you take the time to look for it (good job, by the way!) Makes me wonder how our “elected” miss so much of it. Well, apparently they don’t read the bills they pass either.
I have a really really hard time with non-military people wearing uniform items - lots do around my neck of the woods here in CA - funny, most of them are “anti-war”.
May 25th, 2006 at 17:27
You don’t do trackbacks? I referenced your post in my updated entry about Jesse Macbeth.
Great job. I swear I searched for over an hour and couldn’t find this info!
May 25th, 2006 at 17:39
Amy,
Trackbacks work - but for wordpress they are kinda funny. All you need to do is add ‘/trackback/’ to the end of any post permalink. Funky but true … the link is kinda buried in the text at the top of the comments area.
So, the trackback link looks like:
http://fix4rso.com/2006/05/23/what-happened-to-conviction-in-actions/trackback/
I just left a comment on your site - I figured while you were “lights out” I’d look up the code and sections to give ya some more ammo.
Well, and to watch your six for ya!
May 25th, 2006 at 17:41
YankeeMom,
When I was reading the amendments to these sections, it really does go to show how much wasted time goes on in Wachingtun DeColores. Those dolts spend more of our hard earned money to just burn the place to the ground for their own gains.
Ugh.
May 29th, 2006 at 11:25
Damn! Does this mean I have to take my AFCC patch off my old, beloved, nearly worn out, and tattered, field jacket? Not the “new” BDU-style field jacket, but one of my originals, issued roundabout 1983?
May 29th, 2006 at 22:01
Naw, Buck, just as long as you’re not sitting on a deuce-N-A-half trying to run a city or state!
It’s funny, but only some of us save our field jackets, ear protection, reflector belts, or F-4 tape. F-4 tape you say?!
Yeah, when I was reserve, I had a roll in my pocket while working on something, and totally forgot to drop it in the drawer at shift change. 6 years later, “Hmm, what the heck is this? Oh!”
Uh-huh, did I feel like I just robbed a bank! All items are control items when you are working on planes. Well, any job that uses tools, ’cause I’m sure you had a chit-belt too, Buck. But, a roll of F-4 tape could really mess up an aircraft if it rolls into some of the nether-areas of an aircraft … oooh …
July 16th, 2006 at 6:48
I think that the penalty for burning the US Flag should be to get kicked out of the country, if you dont like it then leave should be the judges verdict…….
July 16th, 2006 at 18:17
Hey Larry - I’m with ya ALL the way there! It is just so sad that this is what is OK in this country.
There be some Old Grand Pas that need to come back to life and BOX SOME FRIGGIN’ EARS!!!
Right?
July 18th, 2008 at 9:42
Actually … rank is not a distinctive part of the uniform alone. You can wear rank on a shirt and its not distictive - but put a US Army Navy etc name plate on it and it becomes distinctive. Basically you have to be in uniform with the rank in order to get impersonation.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:50
Command patches are a distinctive part because they say US Army or Command of thereof. Anything that has written distinction which is not used by anyone else…. Security officers wear officer bars (are they impersonating?) No because rank is not a distinctive part. Bottom line: dont wear anything with writing on it lol.