Barney Frank: “it is an important duty of all of us who serve here to pay respect, to express our gratitude, to join in the sorrow of…”

“it is an important duty of all of us who serve here to pay respect, to express our gratitude, to join in the sorrow of those and their families who are serving this Nation in a time of war. I have tried very hard to do that whenever the occasion occurred. I have attended funerals of young men who were killed, and in one case a man not so young. I was pleased on Saturday to attend a welcoming home ceremony for one young man who returned. I attended a ceremony to see off a group of Guardsmen. The merits of the war are irrelevant when it comes to honoring and expressing our gratitude to those who have served. {time} 1715 Having said that, I want to say that I deeply regretted that yesterday, Tuesday rather, I felt called upon to vote against a bill that was presented here under the suspension of the rules which allowed for no serious debate and zero chance of amendment, a bill which in part protected veterans' funerals from the disruption that they have encountered. And it is true that a particularly contemptible group of bigots are harassing people at some funerals. And we have every right and under the Constitution the power to stop it. Sadly, a badly overdrafted bill was brought forth with no chance for us to amend it. And I do not think we honor our veterans by failing to honor our Constitution. So I had to vote against the bill.…”