Letter to the Editor: Lauzen Should Not Use Sons' Military Attire for Campaign Materials

To the Editor: 

Last weekend, my wife and I received a political advertisement from Chris Lauzen in the mail. It was a handsome political piece which contains, among other things, a color photograph of Sen. Lauzen and his family. Two of the senator’s sons are shown in their full dress uniforms, one from the Marine Corps and one from the United States Navy.

Sen. Lauzen is justiflably proud of his two sons in the military. However, Department of Defense directive No. l344.10, effective Feb. 19, 2008, prohibits members of the armed forces on active duty from “participating in any political activity while in military uniform.” (DoDD 1344.10 E32)

Political activity is defined as “activity supporting or relating to candidates representing, or issues specifically identified with, national or state political partiesand associated or ancillary organizations or clubs."

While Sen. Lauzen should be proud of his sons, the Department of Defense forbids the portrayal of the uniform in political activity including advertisements. At what price for political gain? If Sen. Lauzen is willing to throw his sons under the bus for his own political gain, what lies in store for the voters of Kane County?

Tim O'Neil
Geneva