DOS AND DON'TS: Displaying the American flag

CRESTVIEW — Here are some tips from www.usa.gov and the Government Publishing Office at www.gpo.gov for proper civilian displays of the American flag:

•Custom dictates the flag be on display from dawn to dusk, but the flag can be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated in the dark. 

•Only all-weather flags should be on display during severe weather.

•The flag should never touch anything beneath it, including the ground, the floor or water.

•Damaged, tattered or worn flags should be burned and disposed of with dignity.

•When attached to a vehicle, the flag should be attached to its right side, and not draped over it.

•The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery.

•The flag should never be used for advertising purposes, or as a receptacle for carrying other things.

•Flags are flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a U.S. president, and various days for the deaths of other government officials, and on Memorial Day. They may also fly at half-staff nationally, at the president's discretion, for officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries, or after other tragic events.

HALF-STAFF HONORS

The president has had flags flown at half-staff on these occasions, among others:

•June 16, 2016, in honor of the victims of the terror attack in Orlando

•Sept. 11, in honor of the victims of the terror attack in New York

•May 15, in tribute to peace officers

•For deaths of former senator and astronaut John Glenn, Nancy Reagan, Neil Armstrong, former South African president Nelson Mandela, and Pope John Paul II

See http://bit.ly/2slbRiT for a document listing government regulations on U.S. flag displays.

Rules of presentation

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DOS AND DON'TS: Displaying the American flag