Friday, January 19, 2007

A Friday "DYK" ...

I noticed the flags still at half-staff on many buildings (including where I work) and had two questions concerning this.

1. When a president of the United States dies, how long should someone continue to fly the American flag at half-staff? 2. When does the official mourning period end for former President Gerald Ford?

Answers---The U.S. Code states that the flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death of the president or a former president. So the official mourning period for President Ford — who died Dec. 26 — will end Jan. 25.
The code also states that the flag shall be flown at half-staff 10 days from the day of death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired U.S. chief justice, or the speaker of the House of Representatives.
It is to fly at half-staff from the day of death until the burial 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.
The flag should fly at half-staff on the day of death and the following day for a member of Congress. Note that while the US code is the clear authority for flag display and is followed by most federal and state institutions, it generally is not legally binding to individual flag owners or businesses.

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