Legislation that puts the Vietnam Veterans of America on equal footing with other veterans organization was recently signed by the governor, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara announced.

Santabarbara was a sponsor of the legislation (A.6101) that recognizes the Vietnam Veterans of America as an official benevolent order, a status that had not been previously granted.

“All our veterans make a commitment to serve, and all our veterans should be granted the same rights and privileges,” Santabarbara said. “Thanks to this bill, the VVA will have the resources needed to better serve our Vietnam veterans, which is long overdue.”

Bill Hart, a Vietnam War veteran and a member of Rotterdam AmVets Post 135, was pleased to see the legislation passed and signed.

“Everyone knows the story of how we were treated when we came home from that war,” said Hart, a recipient of the Bronze Star for heroism who served in the U.S. Army as a medic. “All these years later, it feels good to be recognized as an organization and have that validation."

The law took effect immediately.