via: Steve Elkins

In VIOLATION of the set criteria.  Not surprising.  Our government continues to disregard the laws set forth.  While you may respect Billy Graham, he should NOT have been allowed to lie in state in a Federal Building.  Steve

United States[edit] 

Lying in state is the rare honor granted by the United States to a deceased official whereby his or her remains are placed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., for public viewing. The casket is guarded by members of the armed forces. By regulation and custom, only Presidents, military commanders, and members of Congress are granted the honor of lying in state. Except for Presidents and former Presidents, the honor is not automatic. Not all those entitled to the honor have it accepted by their survivors. The first leader to receive this honor was Henry Clay, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, when he died in 1852. Since then, the honor has been extended to 29 people, including eleven Presidents.

The process of lying in state at the Capitol is as follows. The coffin or casket is usually placed on a catafalque, usually the Lincoln catafalque, so named as it was constructed for lying in state upon the death of Abraham Lincoln, after his assassination in 1865. The casket is guarded at each of its corners by a serviceperson from each of the branches of the armed forces. In contrast to the practice in the United Kingdom and other countries of the Commonwealth, guards at the Capitol face the casket, hold their rifles with their right hand, and keep the rifle butt resting on the floor. After the viewing and ceremony at the Capitol, the remains are taken to the burial location.

Representative Thaddeus Stevens lying in state in the Capitol rotunda on August 13, 1868. Because of his prominence as an abolitionist, members of the Butler Zouaves, an African-American company of the District of Columbia, served as honor guards. A plaster statue of President Abraham Lincoln, likely submitted for a commission, was credited to Henry J. Ellicott.

John J. Pershing saluting the Unknown Soldier of World War I, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on November 9, 1921.

Lyndon B. Johnson and members of Congress honor President John F. Kennedy, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on November 24, 1963.

Richard Nixon and members of Congress honor Lyndon B. Johnson who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on January 24, 1973.

The U.S. Joint Service Color Guard and members of Congress honor President Ronald Reagan, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on June 10, 2004.

Dick Cheney and members of Congress honor President Gerald Ford, who lay in state in the Capitol rotunda on December 30, 2006.