Flag
Etiquette
Patriot Day
Patriot Day has been added. to
the Flag Holidays listed in section 174 of the US Flag Code.
On December 18, 2001, President Bush signed Public Law No:
107-89, designating September 11th as Patriot Day. State and
local governments and the people of the United States are
asked to observe Patriot Day with appropriate programs and
activities to honor the individuals who lost their lives as
a result of the terrorist attacks on that date in 2001.
The day has also been designated
as a day that the US flag should be flown at half-staff from
sunrise to sundown, not just until noon as is done on
Memorial Day. In addition the people of the United States
are asked to observe a moment of silence on Patriot Day in
remembrance of the victims.
Many people have asked if
Government offices, schools, banks, etc. will be closed on
that day. We don’t have that information at this time but as
decisions are made we will keep you informed.
Patriot Day should not be
confused with Patriot’s Day, a regional holiday celebrated
in New England on the third Monday in April which
commemorates Paul Revere’s ride and the battle of Lexington
& Concord during the Revolutionary War. The Boston Marathon
is run on Patriot’s Day every year.
For a copy of the Public Law,
visit the National Flag Foundation at
www.americanflags.org.
Flag Etiquette
The National Flag represents the
living country and is considered to be a living thing
emblematic of the respect and pride we have for our nation.
Display it proudly.
UNITED
STATES CODE
TITLE 36
CHAPTER 10
PATRIOTIC CUSTOMS
§ 170. National anthem;
Star-Spangled Banner.
§ 171. Conduct during playing.
§ 172. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery.
§ 173. Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of
rules and customs; definition.
§ 174. Time and occasions for display.
§ 175. Position and manner of display.
§ 176. Respect for flag.
§ 177. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag.
§ 178. Modification of rules and customs by President.
§ 179. Design for service flag; persons entitled to display
flag.
§ 180. Design for service lapel button; persons entitled to
wear button.
§ 181. Approval of designs by Secretary of Defense; license
to manufacture and sell; penalties.
§ 182. Rules and regulations.
§ 182a to 184. Repealed.
§ 185. Transferred.
§ 186. National motto.
§ 187. National floral emblem.
§ 188. National march.
§ 189. Recognition of National League of Families POW/MIA
flag.
§170. National anthem;
Star-Spangled Banner
The composition consisting of
the words and music known as The Star-Spangled Banner is
designated the national anthem of the United States of
America. §171. Conduct
during playing
During rendition of the national
anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those
in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with
the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should
remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at
the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in
uniform should render the military salute at the first note
of the anthem and retain this position until the last note.
When the flag is not displayed, those present should face
toward the music and act in the same manner they would if
the flag were displayed there.
§172. Pledge of allegiance to
the flag; manner of delivery
The Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag, 'I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States
of
America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.',
should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag
with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men
should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold
it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and
render the military salute.
§173. Display and use of flag by
civilians; codification of rules and customs; definition
The following codification of
existing rules and customs pertaining to the display and use
of the flag of the United States of America is established
for the use of such civilians or civilian groups or
organizations as may not be required to conform with
regulations promulgated by one or more executive departments
of the Government of the United States. The flag of the
United States for the purpose of this chapter shall be
defined according to sections 1 and 2 of title 4 and
Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto.
§174. Time and occasions for
display
(a) Display on buildings and
stationary flagstaffs in open; night display
It is the universal custom to
display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings
and on
stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic
effect is desired, the flag may be
displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated
during the hours of darkness.
(b) Manner of hoisting
The flag should be hoisted
briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
(c) Inclement weather
The flag should not be
displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when
an all
weather flag is displayed.
(d) Particular days of display
The flag should be displayed
on all days, especially on New Year's Day, January 1;
Inauguration Day, January 20; Lincoln's Birthday, February
12; Washington's Birthday, third
Monday in February; Easter Sunday (variable); Mother's Day,
second Sunday in May;
Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May; Memorial Day
(half-staff until noon), the last
Monday in May; Flag Day, June 14; Independence Day, July 4;
Labor Day, first Monday in
September; Constitution Day, September 17; Columbus Day,
second Monday in October;
Navy Day, October 27; Veterans Day, November 11;
Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in
November; Christmas Day, December 25; and such other days as
may be proclaimed by the
President of the United States; the birthdays of States
(date of admission); and on State
holidays.
(e) Display on or near administration building of public
institutions
The flag should be displayed
daily on or near the main administration building of every
public
institution.
(f) Display in or near polling places
The flag should be displayed
in or near every polling place on election days.
(g) Display in or near schoolhouses
The flag should be displayed
during school days in or near every schoolhouse.
§175. Position and manner of
display
The flag, when carried in a
procession with another flag or flags, should be either on
the marching right; that is, the flag's own right, or, if
there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of
that line.
(a) The flag should not be
displayed on a float in a parade except from a staff, or as
provided
in subsection (i) of this section.
(b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides,
or back of a vehicle or of a
railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a
motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly
to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if
on the same level, to the right of the
flag of the United States of America, except during church
services conducted by naval
chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above
the flag during church services
for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the
flag of the United Nations or any
other national or international flag equal, above, or in a
position of superior prominence or
honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at
any place within the United States or
any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing
in this section shall make unlawful
the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of
displaying the flag of the United Nations
in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other
national flags in positions of equal
prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United
States at the headquarters of the
United Nations.
(d) The flag of the United States of America, when it is
displayed with another flag against a
wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag's
own right, and its staff should be in
front of the staff of the other flag.
(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at
the center and at the highest point of
the group when a number of flags of States or localities or
pennants of societies are grouped
and displayed from staffs.
(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants
of societies are flown on the same
halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter
should always be at the peak. When the
flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United
States should be hoisted first and
lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above
the flag of the United States or to
the United States flag's right.
(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they
are to be flown from separate staffs
of the same height. The flags should be of approximately
equal size. International usage forbids
the display of the flag of one nation above that of another
nation in time of peace.
(h) When the flag of the United States is displayed from a
staff projecting horizontally or at an
angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building,
the union of the flag should be
placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half
staff. When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk from a
rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the
sidewalk, the flag
should be hoisted out, union first, from the building.
(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against
a wall, the union should be
uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the
observer's left. When displayed in a
window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with
the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the
street.
(j) When the flag is displayed over the middle of the
street, it should be suspended vertically
with the union to the north in an east and west street or to
the east in a north and south street.
(k) When used on a speaker's platform, the flag, if
displayed flat, should be displayed above
and behind the speaker. When displayed from a staff in a
church or public auditorium, the flag
of the United States of America should hold the position of
superior prominence, in advance
of the audience, and in the position of honor at the
clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces
the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed
on the left of the clergyman or
speaker or to the right of the audience.
(l) The flag should form a distinctive feature of the
ceremony of unveiling a statue or
monument, but it should never be used as the covering for
the statue or monument.
(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first
hoisted to the peak for an instant and
then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be
again raised to the peak before it is
lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be
displayed at half-staff until noon
only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the
President, the flag shall be flown at
half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United
States Government and the
Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of
respect to their memory. In the
event of the death of other officials or foreign
dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff
according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in
accordance with recognized customs or practices not
inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a
present or former official of the government of any State,
territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor
of
that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the
National flag shall be flown at
half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff thirty
days from the death of the President or a
former President; ten days from the day of death of the Vice
President, the Chief Justice or a
retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker
of the House of Representatives;
from the day of death until interment of an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court, a
Secretary of an executive or military department, a former
Vice President, or the Governor of
a State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death
and the following day for a Member
of Congress. As used in this subsection -
(1) the term 'half-staff' means the position of the flag
when it is one-half the distance
between the top and bottom of the staff;
(2) the term 'executive or military department' means any
agency listed under sections
101 and 102 of title 5; and
(3) the term 'Member of Congress' means a Senator, a
Representative, a Delegate, or
the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
(n) When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so
placed that the union is at the head and over the left
shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or
allowed to touch the ground.
(o) When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in
a building with only one main
entrance, it should be suspended vertically with the union
of the flag to the observer's left upon entering. If the
building has more than one main entrance, the flag should be
suspended
vertically near the center of the corridor or lobby with the
union to the north, when entrances
are to the east and west or to the east when entrances are
to the north and south. If there are entrances in more than
two directions, the union should be to the east.
§176. Respect for flag
No disrespect should be shown to
the flag of the United States of America; the flag should
not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors,
State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to
be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a) The flag should never be
displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire
distress
in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as
the ground, the floor, water, or
merchandise.
(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally,
but always aloft and free.
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel,
bedding, or drapery. It should never be
festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed
to fall free. Bunting of blue,
white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the
white in the middle, and the red
below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping
the front of the platform, and
for decoration in general.
(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or
stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn,
soiled, or damaged in any way.
(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a
ceiling.
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any
part of it, nor attached to it any
mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or
drawing of any nature.
(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for
receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering
anything.
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes
in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on
such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like,
printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or
anything that is designed for temporary use and discard.
Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or
halyard from which the flag is flown.
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or
athletic uniform. However, a flag
patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel,
firemen, policemen, and members of
patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living
country and is itself considered a living
thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should
be worn on the left lapel near the
heart.
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no
longer a fitting emblem for display, should
be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
§177. Conduct during hoisting,
lowering or passing of flag
During the ceremony of hoisting
or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade
or in review, all persons present except those in uniform
should face the flag and stand at attention with the right
hand over the heart. Those present in uniform should render
the military salute. When not in uniform, men should remove
their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the
left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should
stand at attention. The salute to the flag in a moving
column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes.
§178. Modification of rules and
customs by President
Any rule or custom pertaining to
the display of the flag of the United States of America, set
forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or
additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by
the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United
States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable;
and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set
forth in a proclamation.
§179. Design for service flag;
persons entitled to display flag
The Secretary of Defense is
authorized and directed to approve a design for a service
flag, which flag may be displayed in a window of the place
of residence of persons who are members of the immediate
family of a person serving in the armed forces of the United
States during any period of war or hostilities in which the
Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged.
§180. Design for service lapel
button; persons entitled to wear button
The Secretary of Defense is also
authorized and directed to approve a design for a service
lapel button, which button may be worn by members of the
immediate family of a person serving in the armed forces of
the United States during any period of war or hostilities in
which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged.
§181. Approval of
designs by Secretary of Defense; license to manufacture and
sell;
penalties
Upon the approval by the
Secretary of Defense of the design for such service flag and
service lapel button, he shall cause notice thereof,
together with a description of the approved flag and button,
to be published in the Federal Register. Thereafter any
person may apply to the Secretary of Defense for a license
to manufacture and sell the approved service flag, or the
approved service lapel button, or both. Any person, firm, or
corporation who manufactures any such service flag or
service lapel button without having first obtained such a
license, or otherwise violates sections 179 to 182 of this
title, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more
than $1,000. §182.
Rules and regulations
The Secretary of Defense is
authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be
necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 179 to 182
of this title. §182a to
182d. Repealed. Pub. L. 89-534, § 2, Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat.
345 §183, 184.
Repealed. Pub. L. 85-857, § 14(84), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat.
1272
§185.
Transferred
§186. National motto
The national motto of the United
States is declared to be 'In God we trust.'
§187. National floral emblem
The flower commonly known as the
rose is designated and adopted as the national floral emblem
of the United States of America, and the President of the
United States is authorized and requested to declare such
fact by proclamation.
§188. National march
The composition by John Philip
Sousa entitled 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is hereby
designated as the national march of the United States of
America. §189.
Recognition of National League of Families POW/MIA flag
The National League of Families
POW/MIA flag is hereby recognized officially and designated
as
the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to
resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still
prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia,
thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the
Nation.
Miscellaneous References
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 1
THE FLAG
§1. Flag;
stripes and stars on
The flag of the United States
shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and
white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars, white
in a blue field. § 2.
Same; additional stars
On the admission of a new State
into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the
flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day
of July then next succeeding such admission.
§ 3. Use of flag for advertising
purposes; mutilation of flag
Any person who, within the
District of Columbia, in any manner, for exhibition or
display, shall place or cause to be placed any word, figure,
mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any
nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the
United States of America; or shall expose or cause to be
exposed to public view any such flag, standard, colors, or
ensign upon which shall have been printed, painted, or
otherwise placed, or to which shall be attached, appended,
affixed, or annexed any word, figure, mark, picture, design,
or drawing, or any advertisement of any nature; or who,
within the District of Columbia, shall manufacture, sell,
expose for sale, or to public view, or give away or have in
possession for sale, or to be given away or for use for any
purpose, any article or substance being an article of
merchandise, or a receptacle for merchandise or article or
thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon which
shall have been printed, painted, attached, or otherwise
placed a representation of any such flag, standard, colors,
or ensign, to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark,
or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for
not more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the
court. The words 'flag, standard, colors, or ensign', as
used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors,
ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of
any part or parts of either, made of any substance or
represented on any substance, of any size evidently
purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or
ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a
representation of either, upon which shall be shown the
colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either
thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the
average person seeing the same without deliberation may
believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or
ensign of the United States of America.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 2
THE SEAL
§ 41. Seal of the United States
The seal heretofore used by the
United States in Congress assembled is declared to be the
seal of the United States.
§ 42. Same; custody and use of
The Secretary of State shall
have the custody and charge of such seal. Except as provided
by section 2902(a) of title 5, the seal shall not be affixed
to any instrument without the special warrant of the
President therefor.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5
PART III
CHAPTER 29
COMMISSIONS, OATHS, RECORDS,
AND REPORTS
SUBCHAPTER I - COMMISSIONS, OATHS, AND RECORDS
§ 2902. Commission; where
recorded
(a) Except as provided by
subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the Secretary of
State shall make out and record, and affix the seal of the
United States to, the commission of an officer appointed by
the President. The seal of the United States may not be
affixed to the commission before the commission has been
signed by the President.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5 PART I
CHAPTER 1
ORGANIZATION
§ 101. Executive departments
The Executive departments are:
The Department of State. The
Department of the Treasury. The Department of Defense. The
Department of Justice. The Department of the Interior. The
Department of Agriculture. The
Department of Commerce. The Department of Labor. The
Department of Health and Human
Services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Department of Transportation. The Department of Energy.
The Department of Education. The Department of Veterans
Affairs.
§ 102. Military departments
The military departments are:
The Department of the Army. The Department of the Navy. The
Department of the Air Force.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 18
CHAPTER 33
Part I. CRIMES AND CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE
EMBLEMS, INSIGNIA, AND NAMES
THIS TITLE WAS ENACTED BY ACT JUNE 25, 1948, CH. 645,
SEC. 1, 62 STAT. 683
§ 700. Desecration of the flag
of the United States; penalties
(a)(1) Whoever knowingly
mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on
the floor
or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States
shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(2) This subsection does not prohibit any conduct consisting
of the disposal of a flag when it
has become worn or soiled.
(b) As used in this section, the term 'flag of the United
States' means any flag of the United
States, or any part thereof, made of any substance, of any
size, in a form that is commonly
displayed.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as indicating
an intent on the part of Congress to
deprive any State, territory, possession, or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of jurisdiction
over any offense over which it would have jurisdiction in
the absence of this section.
(d)(1) An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court
of the United States from any
interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order issued by
a United States district court ruling
upon the constitutionality of subsection (a).
(2) The Supreme Court shall, if it has not previously ruled
on the question, accept jurisdiction
over the appeal and advance on the docket and expedite to
the greatest extent possible.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 2
CHAPTER 9A
ORGANIZATION
§ 285b. Functions
The functions of the Office
shall be as follows:
(1) To prepare, and submit to
the Committee on the Judiciary one title at a time, a
complete
compilation, restatement, and revision of the general and
permanent laws of the United States
which conforms to the understood policy, intent, and purpose
of the Congress in the original
enactments, with such amendments and corrections as will
remove ambiguities, contradictions,
and other imperfections both of substance and of form,
separately stated, with a view to the
enactment of each title as positive law.
(2) To examine periodically all of the public laws enacted
by the Congress and submit to the
Committee on the Judiciary recommendations for the repeal of
obsolete, superfluous, and
superseded provisions contained therein.
(3) To prepare and publish periodically a new edition of the
United States Code (including
those titles which are not yet enacted into positive law as
well as those titles which have been
so enacted), with annual cumulative supplements reflecting
newly enacted laws.
(4) To classify newly enacted provisions of law to their
proper positions in the Code where
the titles involved have not yet been enacted into positive
law.
(5) To prepare and submit periodically such revisions in the
titles of the Code which have
been enacted into positive law as may be necessary to keep
such titles current.
(6) To prepare and publish periodically new editions of the
District of Columbia Code, with
annual cumulative supplements reflecting newly enacted laws,
through publication of the fifth
annual cumulative supplement to the 1973 edition of such
Code.
(7) To provide the Committee on the Judiciary with such
advice and assistance as the
committee may request in carrying out its functions with
respect to the revision and
codification of the Federal statutes.
Government
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