Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§244 Discrimination against person wearing uniform of armed forces

Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - CIVIL RIGHTS › § 244

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Staff at entertainment venues in D.C., U.S. territories, or possessions who discriminate against someone for wearing a U.S. military uniform must be fined.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §244

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whoever, being a proprietor, manager, or employee of a theater or other public place of entertainment or amusement in the District of Columbia, or in any Territory, or Possession of the United States, causes any person wearing the uniform of any of the armed forces of the United States to be discriminated against because of that uniform, shall be fined under this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1948 ActBased on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 523 (Mar. 1, 1911, ch. 187, 36 Stat. 963; Aug. 24, 1912, ch. 387, § 1, 37 Stat. 512; Jan. 28, 1915, ch. 20, § 1, 38 Stat. 800). Words “guilty of a misdemeanor”, following “shall be”, were omitted as unnecessary in view of definition of “misdemeanor” in section 1 of this title. (See reviser’s note under section 212 of this title.) Changes were made in phraseology. 1949 ActThis section [section 5] substitutes, in section 244 of title 18, U.S.C., “any of the armed forces of the United States” for the enumeration of specific branches and thereby includes the Air Force, formerly part of the Army. This clarification is necessary because of the establishment of the Air Force as a separate branch of the Armed Forces by the act of July 26, 1947.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $500”. 1949—Act May 24, 1949, substituted “any of the armed forces of the United States” for enumeration of the specific branches.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 244

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73