Vandalizing a war veteran’s grave may soon be a felony in New York thanks to a bill the state Senate recently passed.
“Cemetery desecration already represents a horrendous act of disrespect to the memories of people who have passed away, but it seems even more atrocious to violate the gravesites of men and women who selflessly served their country in the armed forces and may have sacrificed their own lives in this effort,” said state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a co-sponsor of the bill and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs. “This legislation specifically creates a new Class E felony offense, punishable by up to four years in prison, for those who target the final resting places of veterans.”
Under the terms of the bill, the new crime of “cemetery desecration of a veteran” will apply to instances in which offenders damage or steal real or personal property used as a place of interment; property used to store the remains of a veteran; or other property such as headstones, plaques or decorations associated with the place of interment.
Addabbo said that such instances have been a reoccurring theme at the Acacia Cemetery located in Ozone Park near 84th Street and Liberty Ave.
The bill was first drawn up in the Senate in 2003. It has passed in that legislative house in 2003, 2007, 2012 and now 2015. Each year previously it hasn’t gotten past the Assembly Codes Committee, which is where it is headed now that the Senate passed it again.
Addabbo is hoping the Assembly will pass the bill this time around, as he wants to deter criminals from committing such an abhorrent act.
“Men and women who have devoted themselves to the service of our country — leaving their families behind and placing themselves in mortal danger on our behalf — deserve our deepest respect while in the armed forces, when they return home and when they reach their final resting places,” he said. “This legislation will help to ensure our veterans are honored both in life and in death — just as they should be.”
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