Associated Press

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee may have trouble keeping
the promise she made at Michael Jackson’s public memorial
for a House resolution that “forever” honors the late pop
star.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee speaks during the memorial
service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los
Angeles, Tuesday, July 7, 2009.

Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, took the stage Tuesday at the
Staples Center in Los Angeles and hoisted a framed copy of
the resolution, embossed with a gold seal. The measure will
be debated on the House floor, she said.

For that framed, embossed resolution to be completely legit,
it must first get past some opposition.

Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who called Jackson a
“pervert, child molester, pedophile” in a video he posted on
YouTube this week, vowed Tuesday to do “whatever I have to
do” to oppose honoring Jackson.

Without mentioning King by name, Jackson Lee noted at the
memorial that Michael Jackson was acquitted of child
molestation charges. She blasted critics who “don’t
understand the hearts of entertainers” and “don’t know how
they heal the world on behalf of America.”

“We understand the Constitution. We understand laws and we
know people are innocent until proven otherwise. That is
what the Constitution stands for,” Jackson Lee said,
clutching the framed resolution in front of her shiny white
suit.

Her legislation, House Resolution 600, lists several
charitable acts by Michael Jackson over his long career and
proclaims him as an American legend, musical icon and world
humanitarian. He is, Jackson Lee said, “someone who will be
honored forever and forever and forever and forever and
forever.”

In the House, non-controversial resolutions honoring a
person who has died or carried out a noteworthy
accomplishment normally move quickly from committee to the
House floor and then pass on a voice vote. The Michael
Jackson resolution, introduced June 26, is awaiting action
in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of which Jackson Lee
is a member and King is not.

An opponent could ask for a recorded vote, which then
requires a two-thirds majority for passage. So far, Jackson
Lee’s resolution has just one co-sponsor, Rep. Diane Watson,
D-Calif.

Jackson Lee hosted a 2004 meeting in her Capitol Hill office
that brought Michael Jackson together with ambassadors to
the U.S. from African countries. At the time, Jackson was
considering a tour to raise money to fight AIDS. However, he
was also facing child molestation charges and was unable to
leave the country without court permission.

Even so, Jackson was greeted by screams, applause and
flashing cameras.

Jackson also visited Iraq veterans at Walter Reed Hospital
while in Washington.