Sec.
1. - Flag; stripes and stars on
The
flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal
stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the
flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.
Sec.
2. - Same; additional stars
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.
Sec.
3. - Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of
flag
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.
Sec.
4. - Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of
delivery
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.
Sec.
5. - Display and use of flag by civilians; codification
of rules and customs; definition
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 this title and
Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto
Sec.
6. - Time and occasions for display
(a)
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 24 hours a day if
properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
(b)
The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered
ceremoniously.
(c)
The flag should not be displayed on days when the
weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is
displayed.
(d)
The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on
New Year's Day, January 1; Inauguration Day, January 20;
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, third Monday in
January; 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)
The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main
administration building of every public institution.
(f)
The flag should be displayed in or near every polling
place on election days.
(g)
The flag should be displayed during school days in or
near every schoolhouse.
Sec.
7. - Position and manner of display
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 30 days from the death of the President or a
former President; 10 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. The flag
shall be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial
Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day. 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,
United States Code; 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.
Sec.
8. - Respect for flag
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.
Sec.
9. - Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of
flag
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.
Sec.
10. - Modification of rules and customs by President
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.
