Evan’s Law passes to protect children on military bases from falling

Dayton Congressman Mike Turner sponsored bill after boy fell out of window on Pearl Harbor installation.

Evan English was two and a half weeks short of turning five, blond-haired and blue-eyed, when he died after falling out of the second-story window of military housing in Hawaii in March 2011.

At his funeral, the family requested that attendees wear Superman T-shirts. Evan loved Superman. “He had always thought his dad was Superman,” Ami English said of her son. His parents, grief-stricken, were devastated to be picking out a coffin instead of a birthday cake.

But on Friday – more than six years after his family lost him – Evan took the first step to becoming a superhero himself, or, at the very least, saving lives.

The House Friday passed a defense authorization bill that included Evan’s Law, a law that would require the Department of Defense to equip military housing with window fall protection devices such as window guards. The law, his parents hope, will save others.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. Turner introduced the measure during an emotional speech on the House floor in June.

“We ask our service members to go into harm’s way to protect our nation and our way of life,” Turner said. “Our service members deserve to live in residential housing properly equipped with window fall prevention devices to make sure their children are safe in their own homes.”

Jason English, now stationed at the Pentagon, and his wife Ami sued the government after Evan’s death, at Aliamanu Military Reservation at Pearl Harbor. They hoped their lawsuit would drive change. But when they moved to Washington, D.C. – Jason is currently stationed at the Pentagon – they realized they might affect change through Congress.

“Jason and I have done through days and years of grief,” said Ami English. “We’ve spent a lot of time in the deep waters of difficulty. We had to decide: Are we going to drown in this or help other people?”

They said when Turner overheard a conversation about the English family, he jumped in to help. Now, the bill must pass the Senate. The provision is currently in the Senate version of the bill, and is being pushed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Jason English said.

They’re hopeful that if the military institutes stronger rules regarding windows, then others might follow

Today, Evan would be 11. Though he has been gone six years, his family still remembers him, frequently wearing the Superman shirts he adored. His elder brother, 12, sleeps with a quilt made of Evan’s clothes. The family also includes Luke, 7, Lydia, 5 and Joshua, 3. The youngest two children were born after Evan died, but to the English family, he is still very much a part of all of their lives, said Ami English.

“Even if it saves one life, it’s worth opening the wounds of our pain,” she said. “I don’t want anybody else to ever feel this, ever.”

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