The Vietnam Veterans of America voted last month to honor the November 2012 plebiscite vote. In an article entitled “Now is the Time for Congress to Grant Statehood for Puerto Rico,” the VVA’s Web Weekly reported this unanimous vote on the part of the National Board of Directors to seek a legislative sponsor for this action.
The VVA previously adopted a resolution calling for congressional action a decade ago.
The resolution, titled, “Let Puerto Rico Decide,” begins, “The United State Constitution promises equal protection under the law to all U.S. citizens, and yet the island’s current political status treats veterans of Puerto Rico and their families differently than citizens residing in the fifty states.” The document goes on to say that this is reminiscent of the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
“On May 3, 1917, Puerto Ricans embarked on a mission in defense of the nation during WWI by protecting the Panama Canal Zone,” the resolution points out, continuing with a list of sacrifices and heroism on the part of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. military.
“There exists an ever-growing consensus among American veterans,” they explain, “that Puerto Rico has a right to self determination.”
The Vietnam Veterans are in good company, since both U.S. political parties, the special task forces of several different White House administrations, and the United Nations take the same position.
