[rbrtncrsn]

Hello I'm new here and got a question or two i would like to ask. I live in Pennsylvania and I know a few things about the flag etiquette.


"The flag should be lighted at all times, either by sunlight or by an appropriate light source."

I have seen many flags flying at night with no light on the flag. There is US flag that is in the middle of this field which is at the end of a baseball field. It has no light dedicated to it. There are street lights that are with in 100ft that give some light to the flag enough to know what flag it is. Do street lights count as an appropriate light? If so I’m really shocked and disappointed.
“Federal law stipulates many aspects of flag etiquette.”
So if you are not following the flag etiquette you are breaking a federal law?

[NAVA1974]

The flag code is, indeed, codified as Federal Law, but since there are no penalties associated with violating the Flag Code, you cannot be prosecuted in Federal Court (except in Washington, DC, a Federal city.) States can adopt all or part of the flag code as law. They can even establish penalties for violations of their flag laws. And ultimately, they can see their anti-desecration laws declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court as violations of the right to free speech.

[Robin Hickman]

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Greetings, rbrtncrsn !

Welcome to the USA-Flag-Site Forums and HAPPY FLAG DAY !!!


In regards to the idea of a "dedicated light", I have always thought that it was a light whose ONLY purpose, and its only reason for existing, was to light the Flag ALL through the night.


That's just MY opinion, of course!


Anyway, welcome to our forums and HAPPY FLAG DAY !!!


Robin "The Light's On And Somebody's HOME!" Hickman
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[Peter Ansoff]

First of all, here is what the flag code actually says:

"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."

The term "properly illuminated" is subjective, of course. I'd say that a reasonable interpretation would be that there should be enough light to make the flag identifiable, wherever the light happens to come from.

The code does not say that you can't fly a flag in the dark, but only that it's the "universal custom" not to. This was true when the flag code was originally adopted in 1923, but it is not the case today -- it's very common to leave flags up 24 hours a day, illuminated or not. I don't know why customs have changed, but it might have to do with the fact that modern flags are made of synthetic materials, and last a lot longer. Previously, it made sense not to fly the flag in the dark (when nobody could see it), because of the additional wear and tear.

Peter Ansoff