Chicks For Free? Lawmaker Thinks So

Country Trio Told To Sing For Troops To Apolgize For Bush Remark

(AP)  A South Carolina lawmaker is calling for the country-singing trio the Dixie Chicks to make amends for a comment they made by putting on a free show for the troops and their families at a base in the state.

Republican state representative Catherine Ceips introduced the resolution on Wednesday. She says the group's lead singer, Natalie Maines, upset her constituents when she told a London crowd that she was ashamed President George Bush was from Texas because of his support for a war on Iraq.

Many lawmakers on the floor told Representative Ceips that it was ridiculous to pass such a resolution because Maines was just expressing her democratic right to free speech.

Cindi Berger, the Dixie Chicks' publicist, had no comment on the resolution, which passed the House on a 50-35 vote and left some lawmakers angry and others confused.

"I think it's an olive branch to the Dixie Chicks," Ceips said.

"But only after they apologize first for exercising their free speech, is that correct?" asked House Minority Leader James Smith, a Democrat.

The Dixie Chicks have been in Europe promoting their recent release "Home," which won a Grammy last month for best country album.

The group kick off its concert tour in Greenville, South Carolina May 1st.

Some country music stations in Texas and other parts of the country have stopped playing Dixie Chicks music following Maines' remarks, because of angry calls from listeners.

Maines apologized for her remarks, saying she had been "disrespectful" to the president.

The group's hits include "Wide Open Spaces," "Ready to Run" and "Landslide."