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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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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. |
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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 |
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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| 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. |
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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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| 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. |
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| §174.
Time and occasions for display |
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(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. |
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| §175.
Position and manner of display |
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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. |
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| §176.
Respect for flag |
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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. |
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| §177.
Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag |
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| 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. |
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| §178.
Modification of rules and customs by President |
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| 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. |
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| §179.
Design for service flag; persons entitled to display flag |
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| 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. |
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| §180.
Design for service lapel button; persons entitled to wear button |
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| 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. |
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§181.
Approval of designs by Secretary of Defense; license to manufacture
and sell;
penalties |
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| 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. |
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| §182.
Rules and regulations |
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| 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. |
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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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| The 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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| 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. |
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| §188.
National march |
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| 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. |
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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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| Miscellaneous References |
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UNITED
STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 1 |
THE FLAG |
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§1. Flag; stripes and stars on |
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| 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. |
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| § 2.
Same; additional stars |
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| 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. |
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| § 3.
Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag |
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| 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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 2 |
THE SEAL |
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| § 41.
Seal of the United States |
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| The 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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| 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. |
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UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5
PART III
CHAPTER 29 |
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 |
ORGANIZATION |
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| § 101.
Executive departments |
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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. |
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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 |
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 |
ORGANIZATION |
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| § 285b.
Functions |
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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. |
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