Vetting the veterans…
Saying they’re tired of street-corner panhandlers falsely claiming to be veterans, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state Senate on Monday unanimously passed a bill that makes it a crime to impersonate a veteran for personal gain.
The penalty, under Substitute Senate Bill 5861, would be the same as for people caught impersonating a cop: up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
“The word `veteran’ is, to me, a statement that someone has risked their life in protection of the people of the United States,” said bill sponsor Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn. “To demean that word is wrong.”
The same bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, only to quietly die in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
The penalty, under Substitute Senate Bill 5861, would be the same as for people caught impersonating a cop: up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
“The word `veteran’ is, to me, a statement that someone has risked their life in protection of the people of the United States,” said bill sponsor Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn. “To demean that word is wrong.”
The same bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, only to quietly die in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Eye On Olympia." Read all stories from this blog