I’ve searched both the boards and Google but can’t find anything, yet. Both today and yesterday, I’ve noticed flags at half mast. I can’t figure out why. Is this a city or state thing? Do others out there have their flags lowered? What’s the straight dope here?
Seeing as how you hail from the enlightened state Kansas, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn they were lowered in honor of Jerry Falwell’s passing.
Sorry I haven’t changed my location. I’ve actually noticed it in Independence, MO, which is about 60 miles E of Lawrence. And yeah, I thought about Falwell, but I didn’t even want to consider that a possibility.
I don’t know about Kansas, but some states do it for each military person killed in combat.
Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Deleted - My error in not looking at the date of my information.
Flags at Missouri state facilities will fly at half-staff today for Peace Officers Memorial Day, Gov. Matt Blunt’s office said. That was published sometime yesterday, but it may refer to today.
I figure someone out there hasn’t got around to raising it back up to normal height yet.
I think they’re still down for Virginia Tech victims here.
That’s why I love this place - I was just about to post this question having noticed the flags in DC on the drive home last night, and was all set to get righteously outraged if they were for Fallwell.
Most were back up to the top of the flaggstaff this morning, though some of the (non-governmental) ones were still down.
On a total tangent, and I know I could look it up but seeing as I am here, how long do flags stay at half mast for different categories of people? After Ford’s death they seemed to be down for a long time.
Thanks Squink and ExTank! I managed to Google up Peace Officer’s Memorial Day but it was for 2006. I guess more than one flag holder’s been lazy as I’ve seen it at half mast on multiple buildings today as well.
I noticed the flag in front of the local cop shop at half-staff yesterday, before any of the Falwell stuff came about. It hardly makes me blink anymore; seems like they lower it for every little thing. When I was a kid it seemed to take something major like a dead president to lower the flags.
From the Flag Code:
Thanks - I feel terribly lazy asking rather than looking it up, but that is probably because at the moment I am terribly lazy.
If I’m reading that link right, Mr. Moto, I’m presuming that except for the President, Vice President, and Chief Justice, one must die in office to trigger automatic invoking of the Flag Code. If Sandra Day O’Connor dies, Mr. Bush would have to call for half-staff commemoration by Executive Order; the Flag Code doesn’t invoke it for her. But if John Paul Stevens dies, it does. Likewise if Messrs. Rumsfeld and Gonzalez are out playing golf together, and a terrorist caddy shoots one, Mr. Rumsfeld as a former Cabinet officer would not get automatic half-staff recognition but Mr. Gonzalez as a current Cabinet officer would.
Is that how you read it?
Reading the while thing shows that a presidential declaration is needed at all times, at least for official display of flags at half-staff. A governor’s declaration suffices at the state level, and officials can designate the display for officials or events not listed because of a provision listed later in the code.
I called the editor of a Kansas newspaper and he said the flags are at half mast in Kansas because of the deaths in Greensburg, Kansas.
Unless Kansas has developed a vibrant seafaring industry recently, I hope the editor was bright enough to say that they were flying at half-staff.
Were you on a ship?
I have no doubt he is a serving member of the Royal Kansas Navy, the great seafaring state they are. I for one never miss the annual Kansas Regatta. I especially enjoy the sloop races.