US Flag Facts – Fast Friday Fact

by: George Bounacos Friday, July 3rd, 2009

: Image via Wikipedia

Trust the good folks at the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) to be the authoritative source for information about American flag laws, rules and regulations.

Their Our Flag microsite contains information business owners who display flags will want to know. Some of the things I thought I knew but wasn’t 100% positive about were quickly cleared up at the site:

Outdoor flags are typically displayed during daylight hours, but may be displayed 24 hours if illuminated. So if you’ve got a flag outside your business, it comes down at night or you light the thing. Besides, a flag in a single spotlight at night is a striking sight.
Flags are flown at half-staff on Memorial Day until noon. (Boy, we’ve missed that one around here in the past)

The mind-boggling item in their document?

The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.

Yes, that was quite surprising to me too. I’ve got a note in to someone to find out if this is a recommendation or guideline or something more serious. But the important thing is that in a country fighting wars in two other countries and with millions of people who served or had a close family member serving, flag etiquette is not only importnat, but good business sense.

What really prompted my research was on how to dispose of a flag. The FCIC says “in a diginified way, preferably by burning”. I’m guessing the fire chief wouldn’t like that around our place so much. But I’m also told that some cities and towns have drop-off points where flags can be disposed of properly. If you know the answer, please be sure to post a comment.

Happy Independence Day, American readers, and well, have a nice July 4 to those reading in other countries.