Matt Gaetz: “I cannot believe what I just heard on this floor. Kneeling as a sign of respect? I don't recall my Democratic colleagues…”

“I cannot believe what I just heard on this floor. Kneeling as a sign of respect? I don't recall my Democratic colleagues kneeling when former President Obama would come to address this body. They stood as a sign of respect. That is what we do in this country, Republicans and Democrats, for our flag, for our anthem. That is why I joined so many Americans in anger and disgust when I saw NFL players, multimillionaires, kneeling during the national anthem, and it is such an overgeneralized indictment. If people have a problem with police brutality or the criminal justice system, there are venues for discussion, even for protest that highlight and isolate those issues for an adult in a responsible discussion. When people kneel during our national anthem, they don't simply indict the issue with which they take some particular grievance. They indict our country, our servicemembers, our first responders, our Founding Fathers, and the principles that made this country great. But, see, this freedom that we enjoy also includes the freedom of speech, the right of our citizens to express themselves even when we find that expression offensive. It is a fundamental constitutional right, yet nowhere in the Constitution does it say that hardworking Americans have to subsidize or create special carve-outs and exemptions for conduct that they find unpatriotic. Unfortunately, today, the Tax Code gives special breaks to sports leagues.…”