June 17, 201610 yr Does the commissioner have a point or is he being insensitive? Alabama county officials refuse to lower flag to honor Orlando shooting victims - CNNPolitics.com Washington (CNN)Alabama county officials refused to lower flags to half-staff to honor the victims of the Orlando mass shooting this week even after President Barack Obama and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered flags to be lowered. Citing the U.S. Flag Code, Baldwin County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey told CNN affiliate WPMI that while his "heart certainly goes out to the victims and their families," the incident "doesn't meet the test of the reason for the flag to be lowered." Dorsey added that the code states that the flag is to be lowered on Memorial Day and to commemorate the deaths of government officials. In a Facebook post published Tuesday, Dorsey wrote that Baldwin County also didn't lower the flags after the Paris terror attacks last November and the shooting in San Bernardino, California last December by a married couple who pledged allegiance to ISIS. Obama ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff Sunday following the mass shooting at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday that left 49 dead and 53 injured. "I realize that the President and Governor may make the order, but I believe and interpret their order inconsistent with the adopted flag code," Dorsey told the NY Daily News. The Orlando tragedy is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
June 17, 201610 yr Author Question, have they refused to lower the flag in the past? Article said they refused to lower it for the Paris attack and also the CA attack.
June 17, 201610 yr Question, have they refused to lower the flag in the past? They have. They didn't for Paris or San B.
June 17, 201610 yr I wonder if they would change their minds if something similarly horrible happened in, say, Montgomery.
June 17, 201610 yr If they've been consistent I have no problem with it although I'm with Hellcats, the worst mass shooting in US history (by a lone gunman anyway) should be enough to make an exception.
June 17, 201610 yr I was about ready to start a thread on the particular subject of lowering flags to half staff. I work at a building that has a flag and we get notices of when to lower it. It seems like the flag is lowered every 3-4 weeks. I have no basis to say that is good or bad, but flags are lowered at all times it seems.
June 17, 201610 yr If they've been consistent I have no problem with it although I'm with Hellcats, the worst mass shooting in US history (by a lone gunman anyway) should be enough to make an exception. Same here.
June 18, 201610 yr Those are a lot of Americans we lost last week. That didn't deserve it. Wouldn't just be easier to crank the flag half way up the pole than deal with all this? If you're not trying to not make any statement other than flag etiquette, it's just dumb. The president and gov bailed you out. If you got something else to say, say it and quit hiding behind protocol.
June 18, 201610 yr If the code says this doesn't meet the criteria then I have no issue with it assuming they have the right to ignore the request. Why would we change the rules? Is there ambiguity in the wording?
June 18, 201610 yr Author If the code says this doesn't meet the criteria then I have no issue with it assuming they have the right to ignore the request. Why would we change the rules? Is there ambiguity in the wording? I came across this from a 1994 article from USflag.org Displaying Flag at Half-Staff Flag Etiquette Half Staff Displays From the Nov.-Dec. 1994 National Flag Foundations "Standard Bearer" Magazine. This article remains the copyrighted material of the National Flag Foundation and is presented here by permission. Flying the flag at half-staff is an area of flag etiquette that most people want to make sure they get right. It is also an area for which the road to error is routinely paved with good intentions. With that in mind, we offer this refresher course as the all-important intersection where knowledge meets benevolence. FLYING THE FLAG AT HALF-STAFF: The pertinent section of the Flag Code says, "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 possesion, 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 orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death 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 code also includes other related details including the specific length of time during which the flag should be displayed at half-staff, in the event of the death of a "principal figure"(e.g., 30 days for the death of a sitting or former President, 10 days for the death of a sitting Vice-President,etc.). GOOD-FAITH MISUNDERSTANDINGS: Although the code is actually pretty clear, confusion continues to occur. For example, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno recently ordered the American Flag flown at half-staff on all U.S. Department of Justice buildings, in honor of several DEA agents who had died. While NFF understands this gesture, the Flag Code does not give Attorney General Reno the authority to issue that order. Closer to NFF's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home, Mayor Tom Murphy ordered all flags flown at half-staff to honor the victims of a plane crash. Here again, a well-intentioned gesture, but one for which no authority exists. NFF points out these "good-faith misunderstandings" not to criticize or embarrass anyone, but rather to head off a growing trivialization of this memorial salute, and to preserve the dignity and significance of flying the U.S. flag at half-staff. To any readers who may think that NFF is insensitive for raising these breaches of etiquette, please be assured that our motives are pure. We grieve these human loses deeply; however, we believe proper respect for our flag must be maintained - no matter the circumstances. We owe that respect to our living, our dead and our flag.
June 18, 201610 yr I got no problem with this. He is following the correct protocol for lowering the flag. I'm sorry, but a nightclub shooting doesn't meet the standards.
June 18, 201610 yr Author The flag has been lowered many, many times for reasons other than listed above by all the previous presidents. I understand wanting to show respect but maybe we should go back and look at why we are lowering the flag.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.