Lawmaker told to take down tribute to fallen

Lawmaker told to take down tribute to fallen
By Andrew deGrandpré - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 4, 2008 19:03:16 EDT

A North Carolina congressman is bracing for a free-speech fight after images of fallen Marines were deemed a violation of the House’s new anti-clutter policy and removed from the hallway outside his office.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., whose district includes Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps air stations New River and Cherry Point, said he is “willing to go as far as I have to go to make sure the First Amendment right to display the faces of these Marines is protected.”

“It’s too easy for people not to think about the fact that men and women are dying for this country,” he said in an Aug. 26 interview with Military Times.

Building maintenance staff members twice have taken down Jones’ posters, each bearing 42 photos of North Carolina-based Marines who died supporting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

At first, it seemed to Jones that clear evacuation routes and public safety were the issue.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/military_fallenphotos_090308w/%2e