[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S2951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE RESOLUTION 512--HONORING THE LIFE OF CHARLTON HESTON

  Mr. DeMINT (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Allard, Mr. 
Chambliss, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Craig, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Nelson of Nebraska, and Mr. Webb) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 512

       Whereas the United States has lost a great patriot with the 
     passing of Charlton Heston;
       Whereas Charlton Heston first became beloved by the Nation 
     as a great actor and portrayed many heroic figures, including 
     Moses, Michelangelo, Andrew Jackson, John the Baptist, Mark 
     Antony, and El Cid in epic movies of the 1950s and 1960s, and 
     won the 1959 Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar) for playing the 
     title character in ``Ben-Hur'';
       Whereas Charlton Heston was a leader in many areas of life 
     outside of acting, including serving as president of the 
     Screen Actors Guild, which he helped to integrate with Ronald 
     Reagan, and as chairman of the American Film Institute;
       Whereas Charlton Heston was an active supporter of the 
     civil rights movement, including protesting the showing of 
     his film at a segregated movie theater in Oklahoma City and 
     participating in and leading the Arts Group in the 1963 civil 
     rights march on Washington;
       Whereas, in the last major public role of his life, 
     Charlton Heston was president of the National Rifle 
     Association from June 1998 until April 2003;
       Whereas, as president of the National Rifle Association, 
     Charlton Heston was a stalwart defender of the 2nd Amendment 
     right of citizens to keep and bear arms and was an active and 
     effective promoter of wildlife management through hunting;
       Whereas in 2003 Charlton Heston was awarded the 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian 
     honor;
       Whereas Charlton Heston was born in Evanston, Illinois, on 
     October 4, 1923, and his parents moved to St. Helen, 
     Michigan, where he grew up;
       Whereas in 1943 Charlton Heston enlisted in the Army Air 
     Forces and served as a radio-gunner in the Aleutian Islands 
     of Alaska, and in 1947 he was discharged from the Army;
       Whereas in 1944 Charlton Heston married the love of his 
     life, Lydia Clarke, to whom he had been married 64 years at 
     his death;
       Whereas Charlton and Lydia Heston are the parents of 2 
     children, Fraser Heston and Holly Heston Rochell;
       Whereas Charlton Heston passed away on April 5, 2008, and 
     the contributions he made to his family and his Nation will 
     not be forgotten: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life, achievements, and contributions of 
     Charlton Heston; and
       (2) extends its deepest sympathies to the family of 
     Charlton Heston for the loss of such a great and generous 
     man, husband, and father.

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