Flag display question

[jdl]

The US Flag Code says that when there are three flag poles, the US flag should be at the viewer’s far left. But the Code also makes reference to another instance where the US flag should be in the center. Here are the revelenat passages:

3. 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.
   example: X O O O

4. 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.
   example: o o X o o

Source: http://www.usflag.com/etiquette.htm

I always thought that the flag of honor is supposed to always go in the middle. But #3 seems to deny that. Can our American dopers look outside their office window and see how the flags are displayed? Thanks!

[caveman]

Just 2 here, Texas and US. The US flag is on the left as you approach the building, same staff length and flag height as the Texas flag (the TX flag is always flown at the same height as the US flag here, supposedly due to our former republichood). As I understand it, the position of honor for the US flag is on the “speakers right,” that is, to your left when approaching them (or right when in front and turned away from them). Having it in the middle on a taller staff may be just for when it is displayed with state, municiapality, or other subordinate flags, while the idea of rule 3 is for when it is displaed with the flags of other nations, or when all the staffs are the same height for whatever reason.

[NeutronJack]

*Originally posted by caveman *
the TX flag is always flown at the same height as the US flag here, supposedly due to our former republichood

I’ve heard this before, and its more general form of “Of the state flags, only the Texas flag can be flown at the same height as the US flag”, and I’m not so sure. At Coors field in Denver, CO, the CO flag is flown at the same height as the US flag (which doesn’t contradict anything that caveman said). Does anybody have a cite for caveman’s statement? Is it really improper to fly both the US and Texas flags on a single pole?

[Perderabo]

jdl, I don’t see a self-conflict in the US Flag Code. Look at the link that you posted and look at diagrams. Paragraph 3 pertains to a set of flagpoles of equal height. While paragraph 5 pertains to a set of flagpoles with center clearly higher. Either arrangement is fine.

MrNeutron, this means that any state could select the arrangement in paragraph 3 have have the state flag displayed just as high as the national flag. Texas has indeed specified that the arrangement in paragraph 3 is strongly preferred in Texas. The Texas Flag Code states:

When the state and United States flags are displayed at the same time, they should be flown on flagpoles of the same height, and the flags should be of approximately equal size. The United States flag should be displayed to the United States flag’s right, that is, the observer’s left. However, when it is necessary for the state and United States flags to be flown from the same flagpole, the state flag should be displayed underneath the United States flag.

But any state could do this as well and several have. It’s possible that Texas lawmakers passed this law to honor Texas’ former status as a republic. But note that flying both flags on the same pole is allowed in Texas. And this business about “Texas is the only state with that right” is just Texas being snotty. This site says:

Our friends at a book shop in Lake Jackson and their contacts in the Texas Army joined in on the search, but to no avail. One of our volunteers called State Representative Dennis Bonnen’s office. The receptionist who answered the phone took our question all the way to the research department at the Texas State Capitol. The word came back. It is a popular myth that Texas is the only state in the union that can fly its flag at the same height as the United States flag, but there is no legal basis for this assertion.

[GrizzRich]

At the company where I work, three flags are flown on a single pole out front.

American Flag
Our company’s logo/flag
Cleveland Indians flag

I personally think that the two other flags should be flown on a different staff, and of course lower, than the American Flag.

[jdl]

*Originally posted by Perderabo *
**jdl, I don’t see a self-conflict in the US Flag Code. Look at the link that you posted and look at diagrams. Paragraph 3 pertains to a set of flagpoles of equal height. While paragraph 5 pertains to a set of flagpoles with center clearly higher. Either arrangement is fine.
**

Perderabo,
I guess my confusion was that I had never seen a set of flagpoles like the one described in paragraph 5. The guy as the linked website illustrated his interpretation of paragraph 5 (and 3) but, honestly, I don’t see a big distinction between the two paragraphs.

Anyway, I’d still be curious to know how most businesses deal with the flag issue. How does, say, Staples or Home Depot fly the flag(s) outside of your local outlet?