From the Associated Press :
Following complaints from a congressman, the producers of “Wedding Crashers” removed from the movie’s Web site Monday a printable Purple Heart medal advertised as a gimmick to pick up women and get free drinks.
The Purple Heart is among the most venerated medals in the U.S. military. It is awarded to those wounded in battle.
The movie’s characters, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, use the medals to pick up women. Advocates for a bill introduced by Rep. John Salazar of Colorado say it’s no joke; impostors use fake medals or fraudulent stories of having been awarded medals to get ahead in business.
“We understand the sensitivity regarding the medals and did not intend to make light of their significance in any way,” New Line Cinema spokesman Richard Socarides said Monday.
It is a crime to wear, manufacture, buy, sell or trade a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor. Salazar’s Stolen Valor Act, introduced Friday, would expand the law to include more medals and would allow prosecution of anybody who falsely claimed to have earned a military medal or a Purple Heart.
In other news, women across Western Pennsylvania eagerly await federal legislation making it a crime to resemble Ben Rothelisberger.