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"Military personnel here in the U.S. have become a target-of-choice for the Islamist terrorists we have battled since 9/11," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., one of the bill sponsors, said in a statement. "There have been at least 34 domestic terrorism threats, plots, or attacks against U.S. military communities since 2001."
"This bill provides a long-overdue update to the eligibility criteria for the Purple Heart that acknowledges the threat of domestic terrorism," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the other bill sponsor.
Pentagon policy currently considers attacks on U.S. service members at home as criminal matters, not a hazard of combat.
While the bill is not yet scheduled for a vote, NBC News' Luke Russert said it has "strong backing from a bipartisan group of legislators.
"If it were to go to the House or Senate floor it would most likely pass," he added.
King and Lieberman held a joint hearing last December on the terror threat to military communities in the U.S. In their statement Wednesday, they noted that testimony included that of Daris Long, whose son, Army Pvt. William Long, was killed in the 2009 attack on the Army's recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark. William Long was denied a Purple Heart.
Later that year, 12 soldiers and one civilian were killed, as well as 32 people wounded, in the shooting attack at Fort Hood, Texas. None of the service members in that attack are currently eligible for a Purple Heart.
Comment: This will make many socio/psychopathic individuals within the armed forces more prone to violence. Further: Imagine a new bill that states if you fight against an armed services person, you are directly attacking the Government of the United States. So, if some drunken sailor were to get in a fist fight, any person engaging them in hand to hand, or perhaps even breaking up a fight, would be considered a terrorist. And of course the drunken sailor might feel more like a man, brandishing his shiny new medal.
"..We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The hip-hip-hoo-fuckin' rah. Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on you crazy diamond, because we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others." -Movie: Revolver