Protests at military funerals
What they say
His campaign says he authored the Respect for Fallen Heroes Act, which made protesting on federal land during the burial of a service member a federal crime.
“Mike also authored the Respect for Fallen Heroes Act, which made protesting on federal land while families were burying service members who made the ultimate sacrifice a federal crime.”
What the record shows ·
He sponsored H.R. 5037, the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act. The House passed it 408 to 3 on May 9, 2006 (Roll Call 129), with his Yea, and it became Public Law 109-228 on May 29, 2006. It bars unapproved demonstrations on the grounds of cemeteries run by the National Cemetery Administration and at Arlington National Cemetery, and demonstrations within set distances of them in the hour before and after a funeral, and makes a violation punishable by a fine, up to a year in prison, or both.
Limit: He wrote it and it is law. The campaign's summary is broader than the statute: the law covers national cemeteries and Arlington, not federal land in general, and the penalty is at most a year in prison.