Lufkin, TX — State Rep. James White (R-Hillister) issued a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary relating to what he calls religious censorship at the Houston National Cemetery.

The cemetery director allegedly mandated that the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) could not present an option of prayer to families who chose the VFW burial option, according to White’s letter to Secretary Eric Shinseki.

White’s letter states that the Houston National Cemetery requires that families “submit a prayer for approval to government bureaucrats of the Veterans Affairs.”

“My thing is just this simple: these families are not demanding anything. If they want to have a prayer and say, ‘in the name of Jesus’ or ‘God bless’ they shouldn’t have to have that checked off,” White said.

White said he received a letter from one of his constituents pertaining to the issue in Houston, which was why he chose to get involved.

“I know a lot of people who are upset about it,” White said. “The cemetery is on Texas soil, those are Texas fallen heroes and Texas families. Anytime that’s the case, we’ve got to stick up and protect those people. I got a letter from a constituent who was appalled by the idea that grieving families have to fill out prayer requests and get some governmental bureaucrat to sign off on it. I’m a veteran myself, so this means a lot to me.”

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