Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank Congresswoman Frankel, our chair, our leader, and all of my colleagues that appeared today. What a powerful…”

“I thank Congresswoman Frankel, our chair, our leader, and all of my colleagues that appeared today. What a powerful force of women who are standing by our Marines. Now, let me be very clear: All of our men and women in the United States Marines have earned and deserve our respect and trust. All of the women in the United States Marines deserve our trust and our respect. So it saddens me today to have to rise and bring to the attention of so many this unbelievable abuse of the men and women--men because their reputation is tarnished, through no fault of their own, who are not affiliated with Marines United; and women who feel that their service to this Nation has been denigrated. Let me cite for you the words of 23-year-old Erika Butner: ``As a Marine Corps veteran, I am disheartened and disgusted with this scandal.'' Victim blaming and the excuse that some are giving that boys will be boys needs to stop. Butner says she first heard of the group in August when a friend of hers was posted to the page without her consent. In January, she notified the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Google about a shared drive posted to the group that contained naked photos of more than two dozen servicemembers. Comments posted to the group described the victims graphically and, in some cases, advocating that they be raped or sexually assaulted. Names, ranks, and duty stations of the victims were also shared.…”