Joseph Knollenberg: “Yesterday I introduced H.R. 1955 with the support of many of my colleagues in order to prevent death penalty convicts…”

“Yesterday I introduced H.R. 1955 with the support of many of my colleagues in order to prevent death penalty convicts from receiving military burial honors in our Nation's 114 veterans' cemeteries. Today, the gentleman from Missouri is offering an amendment to the defense authorization act prohibiting the same sorts of burial honors. I am a cosponsor on that amendment. It saddens me personally to offer this legislation, but it is the right thing to do for the veterans of our country who have given so much for us. The most heinous domestic violence act ever committed ripped apart the insides of our Nation. I am talking about the Oklahoma City bombing which will always remain, I believe, ingrained in our hearts, our minds and our souls. And yet the perpetrator of this dastardly act which killed 168 people, many of whom were children, can receive a military honor burial in a veterans' cemetery after he receives his death penalty sentence. Our Nation's veterans' cemeteries are sacred ground. They are a solemn and sad reminder of the price our Nation has paid for the freedom we enjoy every day. It is not fitting to allow Timothy McVeigh in the company of our fallen heroes.”