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| Woman wants son's name off T-shirts |
| 2006-07-22 |
| OKLAHOMA CITY - A woman whose Marine son died while serving in Iraq is fighting to keep his name off anti-war T-shirts. Judy Vincent learned last year that Cpl. Scott M. Vincent's name is among about 1,700 included on a T-shirt being sold by an Arizona man over the Internet. The front of the shirt reads "Bush Lied" and the back reads "They Died." Wow. How original. Did somebody copyright "No blood for oil"? The Bokoshe woman, whose son was killed in April 2004, pushed for Oklahoma legislators to pass a law that makes it a misdemeanor to use a soldier's name or likeness for advertising purposes without consent a misdemeanor. The law goes into effect this November. U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., introduced a similar bill in Congress two weeks ago after Vincent asked him to do so. Republican U.S. Reps. Charles W. Boustany Jr. of Louisiana and Geoff Davis of Kentucky introduced similar legislation around the same time. The shirt vendor "has the right to voice his opinion, as we all do," Vincent said. "But I do believe the First Amendment stops when you use a person's name or likeness to make a profit. I don't care what he thinks about the war. I do care that he's making money off my son's death." The shirt vendor, Dan Frazier of Flagstaff, Ariz., recently issued an open letter to family members who contacted him to protest the use of their loved ones' names on the shirt. He praised the soldiers' bravery and sacrifice and insisted he was not trying to degrade their service, but said he would not stop selling the merchandise. Yes. He "supports the troops". You betcha... "Every name matters, and will be retained to help underscore the horrific loss of life that has been caused by President Bush's rush to war under false pretenses," the letter states. Responding to the federal legislation, Frazier posted a statement on his Web site vowing to fight it in court if necessary, but added that he would probably run out of merchandise before any law might take effect. He said it sold poorly and he is unlikely to make more. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 Why does the phrase "Not in their name" come to mind? |
| Posted by: Elmomotle Sneack6231 2006-07-22 20:16 |
| #5 this is a merchandisers dream come true. And I'm guessing he doesn't care that he's an asshole. He won't make more shirts, but this publicity will help him sell what he's got on hand. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-07-22 20:10 |
| #4 Just treat him like the waste of skin he is. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-07-22 16:35 |
| #3 If Frazierhas such regard for the dead soldiers, let him donate money to a charity helping them or their families. |
| Posted by: charger 2006-07-22 15:52 |
| #2 Hey! Someone tell Cindy Shithan that someone is using her son's name for comerical purposes! And pass the popcorn! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-07-22 15:18 |
| #1 Sounds like even the anti war folks found it offensive. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-07-22 15:04 |