T-Shirt using U.S. Soldiers’ Names Under Attack
"Bush Lied…They Died" reads a T-shirt sold by Dan Frazier out of Flagstaff, Arizona. The T-shirt lists over 3,000 names of fallen U.S soldiers in Iraq as a protest of the war. The T-shirts, among other paraphernalia, have recently come under scrutiny in several states including, Louisiana and Oklahoma, where a ban was passed on using the name of fallen U.S. Soldiers for commercial purposes. Florida and Texas have similar bans in the form of legislation waiting to be past, and now Arizona is considering such legislation.
The main opposition to such bans is a question of constitutional rights as Freedom of Speech, but in the case of Frazier’s Anti-War T-Shirts, it can be considered commercial speech, which is not entirely protected by 1st Amendment Rights, and subject to state regulation. Others have argued that use of the names is in public record and can be used in Plays, performances and articles, which may also generate commercial income. Some feel that placing the ban for use on commercial products like T-Shirts would undermine this allowance of public record. An Arizona State University Law Professor, Paul Bender, says that in the case of Frazier, he is not selling anything on the T-Shirt and is only making a political statement. The legislation in each state was largely influenced by the families of the fallen soldiers, who see a certain amount of disrespect in their loved ones’ names being used on Anti-War paraphernalia. Members of the families have said that their loved ones’ names should not be used to promote a political statement they might not have agreed with.
The legislation in Arizona would impose a fine of up to $2,500 on individuals and $20,000 on enterprises, along with 6 months jail time. It would also allow military families the right to sue over the use of their loved ones’ names without permission. The Florida legislation would only impose a $1,000 fine on commercial use of the Soldiers’ names without permission on items like T-Shirts.
While no prosecutions have been made in Louisiana and Oklahoma, a great deal of attention has been placed on Frazier’s possible case in Arizona, as a Phoenix area mother plans to sue him over use of her son’s name if the bill passes. The bills not only cover the use of names on T-shirts, but also photos of the soldiers used without permission. Congressional representatives in Texas, Florida and Arizona still have yet to decided whether or not to pass the ban and have made little indication of how they will decide.
Though illegal in two states, Frazier is still selling the Anti-War T-Shirts on his website, www.carryabigsticker.com
Original news source - Paul Davenport, Associated Press
