HTML Validator... Problem?

Hello list,

Sorry for intruding, as I'm not a member. I'm just experiencing an odd 
error with I *think* is a bug in the validator, which is why I'm offering 
it to the list. If I'm mistaken, I apologize in advance.

Anyway, this is the message it's reporting:

    <p align="center"><hr width="65%" noshade size="1" color="000000"></p>
                                                                        ^
    Error: end tag for element "P" which is not open; try removing the end 
tag or check for improper nesting of elements

Now, call me crazy, but it looks very definitely like I can close that P 
tag. When I look at the source tree, I see that it reports this:

   <P>
   </P>
   <HR>
   </HR>

It seems that the validator is a little too eager and closes the P tag on 
its own before it gives me a chance. Am I correct that this is a bug, or 
did I do something stupid?

Since I'm not on the list, please CC any feedback to me. :)

Thanks,
-David Newberry