Norton Says Fight Begins in Earnest for Respect Due D.C. Service Members, Veterans, and D.C. Flag in Final Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said she was pleased that the Senate today passed a fiscal year 2013 Defense Authorization bill without the non-binding provision included in the House-passed version that expressed the sense of the Congress that active duty members of the military, in their private capacities, should be exempt from the District of Columbia's gun laws. Norton also said that she hopes she will still be able to get a provision into the final bill that would require the armed services to display the D.C. flag and the flags of the territories whenever the flags of the 50 states are displayed. The Senate version does not include the flag provision, but the House-passed version of the bill contains it.

"We recognize that the sense of the Congress resolution has no legal effect, but we are grateful that our Senate allies rejected the provision included by Republicans in the House-passed fiscal year 2013 Defense Authorization bill expressing the sense of the Congress that active duty military personnel should be exempt from the gun laws only of the District of Columbia," Norton said. "If some feel strongly about exempting active duty military personnel from local gun laws, they should have proposed that service members be exempt from the gun laws of every state. We will fight each and every attempt to intrude on the District's local authority, particularly concerning public safety, including in the final Defense Authorization bill. We note that as the Senate rejected the D.C. gun provision, a letter from a group of senior retired generals and admirals to Congress became public, asking that the Senate amend the 2011 defense authorization bill, adding language to allow commanders to collect information about weapons privately owned by troops, in an effort to combat the rising tide of suicides in the armed services."

The Congresswoman said that the fight for respect for the D.C. flag begins in earnest with the provision she seeks already in the House bill.

"We are undeterred in our fight to get a provision included in the final bill that would require the armed services to display the D.C. flag and the flags of the territories whenever the flags of the 50 states are displayed," Norton said. "In this fight to get the respect due to D.C. service members, veterans, and our flag, I remain inspired by D.C. resident and fire investigator Tomi Rucker, who wrote me a letter about her deep disappointment that the D.C. flag was not raised at her son's graduation from boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes, even though state flags were raised to honor the other new graduates. We will continue to work with our allies to ensure this provision makes it into the final Defense Authorization bill."

Published: December 4, 2012