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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.
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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. |
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| 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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 36
CHAPTER 10 |
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PATRIOTIC CUSTOMS
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§
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 tomanufacture 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. |
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§170. National anthem; Star-Spangled Banner |
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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. |
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§171. Conduct during playing |
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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. |
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§172. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner
of delivery |
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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. |
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§173. Display and use of flag by civilians;
codification of rules and customs; definition |
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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. |
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§174. Time and occasions for display |
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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. |
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§175. Position and manner of display |
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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. |
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§176. Respect for flag |
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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. |
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§177. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or
passing of flag |
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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. |
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§178. Modification of rules and customs by
President |
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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. |
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§179. Design for service flag; persons entitled
to display flag |
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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.
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§180. Design for service lapel button; persons
entitled to wear button |
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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.
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§181. Approval of designs by Secretary of
Defense; license to manufacture and sell;
penalties |
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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. |
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§182. Rules and regulations |
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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. |
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§182a to 182d. Repealed. Pub. L. 89-534, § 2,
Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 345 |
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§183, 184. Repealed. Pub. L. 85-857, § 14(84),
Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1272 |
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§185. Transferred |
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§186. National motto |
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national motto of the United States is declared
to be 'In God we trust.' |
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§187. National floral emblem |
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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. |
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§188. National march |
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composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The
Stars and Stripes Forever' is hereby designated
as the national march of the United States of
America. |
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§189. Recognition of National League of Families
POW/MIA flag |
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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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 1 |
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THE FLAG
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§1. Flag; stripes and stars
on |
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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. |
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§ 2. Same; additional stars |
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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.
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§ 3. Use of flag for advertising purposes;
mutilation of flag |
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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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 2 |
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THE SEAL
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§ 41. Seal of the United States |
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seal heretofore used by the United States in
Congress assembled is declared to be the seal of
the United States.
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§ 42. Same; custody and use of |
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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 |
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COMMISSIONS, OATHS, RECORDS, AND REPORTS
SUBCHAPTER I - COMMISSIONS, OATHS, AND
RECORDS
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§ 2902. Commission; where recorded |
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| (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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5 PART I
CHAPTER 1 |
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ORGANIZATION
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§ 101. Executive departments |
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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.
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§ 102. Military departments |
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The
military departments are:
The Department of the Army. The Department of
the Navy. The Department of the Air Force. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 18
CHAPTER 33 |
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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
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§ 700. Desecration of the flag of the United
States; penalties |
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(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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 2
CHAPTER 9A |
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ORGANIZATION
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§ 285b. Functions |
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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 for flag
etiquette. |
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