76-9-706.  False representation of military award — False wearing or use of medal, name, title, insignia, ritual, or ceremony of a military related organization.

(1)  As used in this section:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-9-706

  • Armed forces: means the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, government, partnership, or unincorporated association. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Writing: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  “Military related organization” means a public or private society, order, or organization that:

(i)  only accepts as a member, a person, or the relative of a person, who is:

(A)  a member of the military; or

(B)  an honorably discharged member of the military; and

(ii)  is organized for the purpose of:

(A)  recognizing or honoring a person for military service;

(B)  assisting a person described in Subsection (1)(a)(i) to lawfully associate with, or provide service with, other people described in Subsection (1)(a)(i); or

(C)  provide support for, or assistance to, a person described in Subsection (1)(a)(i).

(b)  “Service medal” means:

(i)  a congressional medal of honor, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 704(c)(2);

(ii)  a distinguished service cross, as defined in 10 U.S.C 3742;

(iii)  a Navy cross, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 6242;

(iv)  an Air Force cross, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 8742;

(v)  a silver star, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 3746, 6244, or 8746;

(vi)  a bronze star, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 1133;

(vii)  a purple heart, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 1129;

(viii)  any decoration or medal authorized by the Congress of the United States for the armed forces of the United States;

(ix)  any service medal or badge awarded to members of the armed forces of the United States;

(x)  any of the following Utah National Guard medals or ribbons:

(A)  medal of valor;

(B)  Utah cross;

(C)  joint medal of merit;

(D)  Utah medal of merit;

(E)  joint commendation medal;

(F)  commendation medal;

(G)  achievement ribbon;

(H)  joint staff service ribbon;

(I)  state partnership service ribbon;

(J)  service ribbon;

(K)  military funeral honors service ribbon;

(L)  emergency service ribbon; or

(M)  recruiting ribbon;

(xi)  any ribbon, button, or rosette for a decoration, medal, or badge described in Subsections (1)(b)(i) through (x); or

(xii)  an imitation of a decoration, medal, badge, ribbon, button, or rosette described in Subsections (1)(b)(i) through (xi).

(2)  Any person who intentionally makes a false representation, verbally or in writing, that the person has been awarded a service medal is guilty of an infraction.

(3)  Any person who wears, purchases, attempts to purchase, solicits for purchase, mails, ships, imports, exports, produces blank certificates of receipt for, manufactures, sells, attempts to sell, advertises for sale, trades, barters, or exchanges for anything of value a service medal, or any colorable imitation thereof, except when authorized by federal law, or under regulations made pursuant to federal law, with the intent to defraud, or with the intent to falsely represent that the person or another person has been awarded a service medal, is guilty of an infraction.

(4)  A person is guilty of an infraction if the person wears or uses a medal of a military related organization:

(a)  that the person is not entitled to wear or use; and

(b)  with the intent to defraud or with the intent to falsely represent that the person or another person has been awarded the medal.

(5)  A person is guilty of an infraction if the person uses the name, an officer title, an insignia, a ritual, or a ceremony of a military related organization:

(a)  that the person is not entitled to use; and

(b)  with the intent to defraud, or with the intent to falsely represent that the person or another person was or is a member, representative, or officer of the military related organization.

Amended by Chapter 303, 2016 General Session

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