During the PC craze of recent years radicals, miscreants, and America haters have abused the Star Spangled Banner in many types of ways. They’ve kneeled in protest, banned it, raised racist salutes while it played, and even have lobbied to have it replaced with silly sectarian tunes of mawkish lyrics and worse melody. Well, one US Army veteran and Republican State Rep from Wisconsin wants to defend the national anthem. Good for him. The Wisconsin House passed the bill Tuesday and it goes on to the Senate. The Democrat governor is unlikely to sign it.

FNC: “Wisconsin State Rep. Tony Kurtz told “Fox & Friends” Thursday he has proposed a bill requiring the national anthem to be played before all sporting events in the state, and expressed that Americans need to ‘come together as a nation.’ Sites covered by the bill would include major, taxpayer-subsidized venues where the Packers, Bucks and Brewers play, as well as public schools and other facilities that were built or upgraded with taxpayer funds.”

“I think their next session is in June,” the bill’s Republican sponsor, state Rep. Tony Kurtz, told media Tuesday. “So I think they would take it up, and maybe the governor can sign it on July 4. That would be pretty great…The national anthem, the flag, it’s very near and dear to me,” Kurtz said. “To me it’s something core to who I am, I know that might sound silly, but that’s just the truth. It’s something I truly believe in.”

“I don’t expect you, if you have a scrimmage, to play it before for a scrimmage. But I do expect you play it for a [University of Wisconsin-Madison] Badgers game…This country, for all the good we have had, for all the bad we have done – and we have – we are still one country,” he said. “I want people to remember that…I want people to do this voluntarily,” he said. “And if they still want to sit there, that’s fine. If they want to get on one knee, which I disagree with, they can. So I don’t want to put a penalty, because I think that is crossing the line, to be honest with you. My goal is just kind of to reiterate to people the importance of this and why it matters.”

Kurtz concluded with, “It is a time in our nation that we all do need to come together as a nation and reflect on all the good things that we have…that all starts with service members…Some paid the ultimate price so that we can have that freedom, and playing the national anthem just reflects on who we are. We are one nation. We are one family, as Tim Scott said a couple of weeks ago…I think it’s something we all should rally around to play our national anthem, to not forget who we are as a people right now.

“I want people to do this voluntarily,” he said. “And if they still want to sit there, that’s fine. If they want to get on one knee, which I disagree with, they can. So I don’t want to put a penalty, because I think that is crossing the line, to be honest with you. My goal is just kind of to reiterate to people the importance of this and why it matters.”