Hand
Salute
Last
January, the National Defense
Authorization Act, Section 594,
was passed, allowing members of
the armed forces and veterans
who are present but not in
uniform during the hoisting,
lowering or passing of the flag
to render the military salute.
Already, a change has been made,
sponsored by Senator Jim Inhofe
(R-Okla.), an Army veteran and
minority member of the United
States Senate Committee on Armed
Services. In addition to
saluting the flag, veterans and
out-of-uniform military
personnel are now also allowed
to hand-salute during the
national anthem.
This
provision was included in the
Duncan Hunter National Defense
Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2009, signed by
President Bush on 14 October
2008.
To read more, go to the Library
of Congress's "Thomas" web site
at thomas.loc.gov (S.3001; the
provision is Subtitle E--Joint
and Multiservice Matters, Sec.
595), or govtrack.us for the
final version in its entirety.