‘Stolen Valor” case debate: Free Speech vs. Protecting Veterans

The other giant Supreme Court ruling came in the Stolen Valor case where the United States Supreme Court said there can be no laws criminalizing a person who fabricates their veteran service. Wall Street Journal notes. “ The Supreme Court cited First Amendment free-speech rights in striking down a law that made it a federal crime to falsely claim to have been awarded military medals.The 6-3 majority opinion upheld a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had declared unconstitutional the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 statute Congress passed “to protect the reputation and meaning” of military honors.Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “Permitting the government to decree this speech to be a criminal offense, whether shouted from the rooftops or made in a barely audible whisper, would endorse government authority to compile a list of subjects about which false statements are punishable.”“
Is it free speech or protecting veteran’s honor????      Please comment on whether the Supreme court did the right thing.