Americas system of military honors is vulnerable to fraud, says Justice Samuel Alito.

Justice Samuel Alito, who was honored at the 2014 Congressional Medal of Honor Society Awards gala in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, spoke with regret about the legal fallout from a recent First Amendment case over the right to lie about being a war hero.

I fervently wish that we find a way, that Congress will find a way to protect the integrity of our countrys system of military honors, Justice Alito said, making a comparison to laws cracking down on counterfeit luxury goods. If there is no First Amendment right to buy a fake Rolex, why should there be a First Amendment right to wear a fake Medal of Honor? he said at the ceremony.

Justice Alito was one of three dissenting votes in a 2012 Supreme Court free-speech ruling striking down a law that made it a federal crime to falsely claim to have been awarded military medals.

The high-court declared unconstitutional the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 statute Congress passed to protect the reputation and meaning of military honors.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said: Permitting the government to decree this speech to be a criminal offense, whether shouted from the rooftops or made in a barely audible whisper, would endorse government authority to compile a list of subjects about which false statements are punishable.

In response, Congress last year passed a new Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to knowingly profit from lying about receiving military medals and decorations.

Justice Alito, in his weekend remarks, said he couldnt comment specifically on the new statute.

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Justice Alito Urges Congress to Protect Nations Military Honors System