For one thing, the Pentagon statement clarifying that military personnel would not be court-martialed if they "evangelize" also said that "proselytization" is considered a Uniform Code of Military Justice offense.
Some lawmakers have sought to pass a new law that would narrowly define the criminal offense to apply to those who receive a benefit by lying about military honors.
At oral arguments in February, the justices said they were sympathetic to protecting the valor represented by U.S. military decorations, but questioned whether falsely claiming to have received a medal should be a federal offense.
But a military leader in Pakistan in the middle 1980s tightened the laws, introducing amendments that "essentially made blasphemy a capital offense, " Hasan said.