[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5129-S5130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RESPECT FOR AMERICA'S FALLEN HEROES ACT
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5037, which was just
received from the House.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 5037) to amend titles 38 and 18 of the United
States Code to prohibit certain demonstrations at cemeteries
under the control of the National Cemetery Administration and
at Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to comment on an
amendment I am offering with Senators Inhofe and Frist to H.R. 5037,
the ``Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act. H.R. 5037 passed the
House a couple of weeks ago by an overwhelming margin--408 to 3. It was
conceived in response to hateful, intolerant demonstrations taking
place at the funeral services of deceased servicemembers of the global
war on terror. The fringe group responsible for these demonstrations
believes that 2,752 of our Nation's finest have lost their lives in
defense of America because, unbelievably, God is exacting His revenge
on the United States for its permissive laws respecting homosexuality.
It is a sad irony that the same 2,752 servicemembers who fought to
guarantee the right of this fringe group to hold and express their
beliefs are, along with the families of deceased servicemembers, now
the victims of those same hateful, but protected, ideas.
First, it is important to point out that the House, led by
Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan and Chairman Buyer, went to
great lengths to carefully craft the House-passed legislation to
preserve the dignity of military funerals while at the same time
balancing first amendment rights. I applaud them, and Senator Jim
Inhofe, the original sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, for
being proactive in addressing a problem that no military family should
experience at a VA national cemetery or at Arlington National Cemetery.
Let me describe in brief the many provisions of their legislation that
are left untouched by this amendment. We retain the prohibition on
unapproved demonstrations on VA or Arlington cemetery grounds. We
retain the language used to describe exactly what kind of
demonstrations are prohibited. We retain the criminal penalties
attached to those who violate the prohibitions. And we retain the
language expressing the sense of the Congress that States enact
legislation to restrict demonstrations near any military funeral. My
amendment would only modify the language of the underlying bill that
restricts demonstrations that are within 500 feet of cemetery property.
Let me explain why.
Many VA cemeteries are tucked in the middle of residential
neighborhoods. Thus, the reach of the proposed Federal law in the
underlying bill would extend to all private residences located within
500 feet of any VA cemetery property or Arlington National Cemetery. I
am always sensitive to expanding zones of Federal influence or
regulation, especially to cover lands that are not its own, unless it
is absolutely necessary. And, furthermore, in a report by the
Congressional Research Service and analyses from constitutional law
experts, it was concluded that a 500-foot buffer zone around the
perimeter of all cemetery lands may not be sufficiently narrow to pass
constitutional muster. Constitutional questions surrounding the
language are, of course, open to debate. But my goal here was to move
legislation that was as narrowly tailored as possible and that didn't
take away any of its effectiveness in prohibiting these offensive
demonstrations at our national shrines.
There have yet to be any unapproved demonstrations either on VA
cemetery property or outside of its grounds. There have been
demonstrations at Arlington National Cemetery, but those demonstrations
have been limited to the gates outside the front entrance of the
cemetery. Practically speaking, if there were to be any demonstrations
at VA cemeteries they would likely be at cemetery access points, just
as at Arlington. It is VA's policy to hold funeral ceremonies at
committal shelters located on its cemetery grounds. By design, those
shelters at open national cemeteries are a minimum of 300 feet from any
property line. And the line of sight from the property line is, also by
design, typically obstructed by trees, shrubs, or other foliage. In
addition, each national cemetery has three or four committal shelters,
on average, which could be used for ceremonies. According to VA
officials, only the cemetery superintendent knows beforehand where the
committal shelter to be used for a particular funeral ceremony is
located. So it is unlikely that demonstrators could effectively
``disrupt'' a cemetery funeral ceremony at any point other than an
access point when a funeral procession was entering or leaving cemetery
grounds. There simply are too many distance, visual, and logistical
obstructions to overcome.
Therefore, my amendment would do the following. It would prohibit
individuals who, as part of any demonstration, and within 150 feet of
any point of ingress to or egress from cemetery property, be it by
road, pathway, or otherwise, willfully make, or assist in the making,
of any noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the peace
or good order of a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony. This
language will ensure that as a funeral procession is entering or
exiting any cemetery that there is sufficient distance between the
procession and the demonstrators, and that no slowdown of the
procession is precipitated by a large gathering of demonstrators near
the gates of cemetery property. Furthermore, my amendment would
prohibit any demonstration, irrespective of its character, that is
within 300 feet of cemetery property that would impede access to or
egress from the property.
The principles behind my amendment are simple: As a funeral
procession approaches a national cemetery, there should be no
obstruction of that procession for any reason. The closer the
procession is to the gates of the cemetery, the tighter the
restrictions on demonstrations should necessarily be to ensure a
dignified, solemn, and respectful burial at our national shrines.
Again, I thank Representative Rogers of Michigan and Senator Inhofe
for their leadership on this issue. And I ask my colleagues for their
support.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time
and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that
any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 4187) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to,
as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Respect for America's Fallen
Heroes Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DEMONSTRATIONS AT CEMETERIES
UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY
ADMINISTRATION AND AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL
CEMETERY.
(a) Prohibition.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 24 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 2413. Prohibition on certain demonstrations at
cemeteries under control of the National Cemetery
Administration and at Arlington National Cemetery
``(a) Prohibition.--No person may carry out--
``(1) a demonstration on the property of a cemetery under
the control of the National Cemetery Administration or on the
property of Arlington National Cemetery unless the
demonstration has been approved by the cemetery
superintendent or the director of the property on which the
cemetery is located; or
``(2) with respect to such a cemetery, a demonstration
during the period beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60
minutes after a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony is
held, any part of which demonstration--
``(A)(i) takes place within 150 feet of a road, pathway, or
other route of ingress to or egress from such cemetery
property; and
``(ii) includes, as part of such demonstration, any
individual willfully making or assisting in the making of any
noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the
[[Page S5130]]
peace or good order of the funeral, memorial service, or
ceremony; or
``(B) is within 300 feet of such cemetery and impedes the
access to or egress from such cemetery.
``(b) Demonstration.--For purposes of this section, the
term `demonstration' includes the following:
``(1) Any picketing or similar conduct.
``(2) Any oration, speech, use of sound amplification
equipment or device, or similar conduct that is not part of a
funeral, memorial service, or ceremony.
``(3) The display of any placard, banner, flag, or similar
device, unless such a display is part of a funeral, memorial
service, or ceremony.
``(4) The distribution of any handbill, pamphlet, leaflet,
or other written or printed matter other than a program
distributed as part of a funeral, memorial service, or
ceremony.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``2413. Prohibition on certain demonstrations at cemeteries under
control of National Cemetery Administration and at
Arlington National Cemetery.''.
(b) Construction.--Nothing in section 2413 of title 38,
United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), shall be
construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, with respect to property under control of
the National Cemetery Administration, or the Secretary of the
Army, with respect to Arlington National Cemetery, to issue
or enforce regulations that prohibit or restrict conduct that
is not specifically covered by section 2413 of such title (as
so added).
SEC. 3. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF PROHIBITION ON UNAPPROVED
DEMONSTRATIONS AT CEMETERIES UNDER THE CONTROL
OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ADMINISTRATION AND AT
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.
(a) Penalty.--Chapter 67 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1387. Demonstrations at cemeteries under the control
of the National Cemetery Administration and at Arlington
National Cemetery
``Whoever violates section 2413 of title 38 shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned for not more than one year, or
both.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``1387. Demonstrations at cemeteries under the control of the National
Cemetery Administration and at Arlington National
Cemetery.''.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STATE RESTRICTION OF
DEMONSTRATIONS NEAR MILITARY FUNERALS.
It is the sense of Congress that each State should enact
legislation to restrict demonstrations near any military
funeral.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill (H.R. 5037), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the bill we just passed was the Respect for
America's Fallen Heroes Act. I would like to comment briefly, and I
express my thanks to my colleagues for allowing me to proceed with this
legislation and interrupt their debate.
I would like to read briefly from a news report that appeared in the
Chicago Tribune this past April. And I quote:
Army Private First Class Amy Duerksen was 19 when she died
last month in a U.S. military surgical hospital in Baghdad, 3
days after being shot in an accident. By all the accounts of
her family, friends and superiors, she had been a model
soldier, an impassioned patriot and a deeply devout
Christian.
But none of that mattered to the six members of the
Westboro Baptist Church who drove all night from their
headquarters in Topeka, KS to show up outside Duerksen's
March 17th funeral waving hateful placards.
I will not sully this institution or the memory of Amy Duerksen by
repeating this group's detestable message. But I will tell you that
today the Senate unanimously passed the Respect for America's Fallen
Heroes Act, originally introduced by Congressman Mike Rogers of
Michigan and passed in the House with near unanimous support.
Here in the Senate, we agreed, as one, that families like the
Duerksens should never have to be harassed by protesters of any stripe
as they bury their fallen warriors.
The Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act will protect the sanctity
of all 122 of our national cemeteries as shrines to our gallant dead.
It will ban demonstrations that occur within 500 feet of the cemetery
without prior approval from an hour before a funeral until an hour
after it. Violators will be fined up to $100,000 and spend a year in
jail.
It's a sad but necessary measure to protect what should be recognized
by all reasonable people as a solemn, private, and deeply sacred
occasion.
The bill has been carefully crafted to meet constitutional muster. As
even the ACLU acknowledges, ``The right of free expression is not an
absolute right to express ourselves at any time, in any place, in any
manner.''
And as the courts have identified, our national cemeteries are places
deserving of the respect and honor of those interred or memorialized.
I thank Congressman Rogers for bringing this issue to our attention.
And I conclude with a passage from the Bible:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4.
We may never understand what compels a small group of small minded
and mean hearted people to harass a family in mourning. But that is not
our responsibility here. Our duty is to protect the solemn right of our
military families to grieve the loss of America's fallen heroes in
private, with the respect and dignity that is their due.
I look forward to this bill reaching the President's desk and being
signed into law.
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