Commending the Patriot Guard Riders

COMMENDING THE PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS

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Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today I will be managing the time on behalf of the Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee. And I certainly want to thank Mr. Moran for bringing forth this resolution and thank Mrs. Drake of Virginia for managing the time and urging the adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, in 2004, my hometown of Wilson, North Carolina, suffered its first casualty of war since Vietnam. Our community is a rather small community of 43,000 people, and all of the residents of my community including myself felt the sting of this terrible tragedy.

It is abhorrent to me to denigrate this honorable ceremony; yet somehow a few people have found a reason to justify the terrible act of picketing a military funeral. That in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, is despicable. A military funeral is a farewell; it is a farewell for loved ones and a final act of thanks from a grateful Nation. Every soldier in our history, no matter who the enemy has been, has been granted this one simple act which has tragically been repeated so many times and too many times during this and other wars, but always with pride.

Every parent deserves to lay their child to rest as a soldier and as a hero, a person to whom servicemen and servicewomen can look with reverence. Every wounded veteran, Mr. Speaker, can look to these fallen men and women and draw strength from their memories.

To those who are grieving and most vulnerable, the protest must be utterly devastating to them. They are nothing more than cowardly attacks on members of our communities most deserving of our gratitude and our respect.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we come to the floor to honor those who have shown courage in response to cowardness. I commend in the strongest possible terms the Patriot Guard Riders. These volunteers have come forward in defense of our military families, including a dear friend of mine from Greensboro, North Carolina, Mr. Steve Winsett. These men perform selfless acts in memory of servicemembers who will never be able to repay them. It is an act of compassion and is a part of what makes our great Nation strong.

Mr. Speaker, make no mistake about it, I support the first amendment's guarantee of free speech, but this sacred moment in the life of a family is out of bounds. I urge the members of the Westboro Baptist Church to find another venue to express themselves.

We express our deepest gratitude from the House Armed Services Committee and from this body; we express our deepest gratitude to the Patriot Guard Riders. And I want to thank again Mr. Moran for bringing forth this resolution, because it is most appropriate at this time.

I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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