Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I come to the floor to thank the House for recognizing that all veterans and members of the military must be recognized…”

“I come to the floor to thank the House for recognizing that all veterans and members of the military must be recognized equally, not only some of them; and I have asked the Senate to do the same. Imagine you are a parent. You go to a military ceremony, for example, the graduation from Navy boot camp. Applause comes with each graduate as his or her name is called, and the flag of the home State is raised. But your flag is not raised. Why? Because your son is from the District of Columbia or one of the Territories. The House defense authorization bill recognizes the injustice of the discrimination against any of our veterans or members of the military. The Senate bill does not. We ask that the Senate follow the lead of the House. In our country, no American--and especially no veteran or member of the military--is more equal than any other. If the military flies the flags, then fly them all. ____________________”