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Military gets boost from state actions

By Staff | Aug 1, 2007

The Lawrence Journal-World recently said in an editorial:
A couple of actions taken last week in Topeka are a positive indication of the support members of the military have in Kansas.

The first action was a very practical matter taken on by the Kansas Insurance Department. New rules approved last week bar annuity and life insurance salesmen from soliciting soldiers who are on duty or attending required meetings on their bases. The rules spell out what the insurance commissioner considers to be deceptive or unfair practices and are intended to supplement state and federal laws aimed at preventing questionable sales tactics.

The military already has rules about such matters, but now that the Insurance Department has its own regulations, it will be able to revoke agents’ licenses or impose fines against them or their companies if they are found to be in violation.

The state’s move provides additional protection for military personnel.

The other action was more symbolic but perhaps more significant. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued an executive order stating that flags across Kansas will fly at half-staff whenever a Kansan is killed in the line of duty. The change follows similar measures approved by President Bush.

The Kansas order won’t apply to every soldier stationed at a military base in Kansas, but flags will be lowered when a member of the Kansas Army National Guard or the Kansas Air National Guard or any Kansas resident in the U.S. armed forces is killed in the line of duty.

The governor’s office will continue to announce when flags should be lowered, but the order will help standardize flag etiquette in the state.

Lowering the flag is a symbolic act, but, as Sebelius points out in her order, the U.S. flag is a “sign of freedom here and around the world. … The act symbolizes our gratitude for their sacrifice and our immense sorrow for their family’s loss.”

It’s only appropriate that the state do all it can to honor and protect those who serve and die in our nation’s military.