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Lawmaker's wife told to leave during Bush speech

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 February 2006, 12:37 CST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wife of a senior House of Representatives Republican was told to leave the House chamber during President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech for for wearing a shirt bearing words of support for U.S. troops.

"Shame, shame," Rep. Bill Young of Florida said on the House floor on Wednesday, condemning the treatment of his wife Beverly by the U.S. Capitol Police.

"She was ordered to leave the gallery, because she was doing ... what the president said we should all do," Young said. "She had on this shirt. A very conservative shirt, long sleeves, high neck, but it says support our troops."

Also on Tuesday night anti-Iraq war activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested in one of the House galleries before the speech after she refused to cover up an anti-war slogan on her shirt.

Young, who chairs the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said his wife "supports our troops on every day, every hour," visiting wounded soldiers at military hospitals and helping their families.

Young said a guard at the House chamber called her "a demonstrator and a protester."

Her shirt said "Support the Troops Defending Our Freedom."

A U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman said the matter was still under investigation, and declined to comment further.

Source: REUTERS

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