N.H. House approves state military medal - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

N.H. House approves state military medal

CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire House on Thursday approved creating a new medal to honor the state’s war dead, and to shield their funerals from protests.

The state’s Medal of Honor would go the families of New Hampshire military members killed in the line of duty.

The same bill also would ban protests at funerals. The ban was prompted by a protest at a New Hampshire military funeral in April by a Kansas-based group. The bill would ban protests within 150 feet of the road entrance and 300 feet from a cemetery, from an hour before to an hour after a funeral.

“This bill protects the sanctuary of a military member’s final resting place. When someone loses somebody, it can’t be about politics,” said Rep. Kris Roberts, a Keene Democrat and Marine Corps veteran who added the protest ban to the bill. “People need the time to say their last goodbye,” he said.