Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia), a member of the Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is sounding off about a directive from Governor Cuomo through the Office of Government Services that would split half-staff flag dedications on Memorial Day weekend between essential workers who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic and fallen veterans, as flags would be lowered to half-staff Sunday for essential workers, and Monday for veterans.

A veteran himself, Hawley feels that while those who passed during the COVID-19 should be honored and remembered, it is incredibly disrespectful to service members who have passed and their families to diminish their remembrance in this way.

“Honoring one group of people should never come at the cost of diminishing the honor of another, especially when we’re talking about people that fought and died so that we can live free and peaceful lives,” said Hawley. “This directive, by the governor, was issued in incredibly poor taste, and is an insult to all of the New Yorkers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the liberty of our countrymen and people throughout the globe. To say this slighting of our nation’s fallen heroes is a disgrace would be an understatement, and I implore the governor to see that this directive is reversed immediately.”