In several US states, flags are flying at half-mast this weekend.
The U.S. Flag Code requires that heads of state and the U.S. President may order flags to fly at half-staff to honor the memory of military personnel, government officials, and emergency responders.
This weekend, lights on official government buildings in four states will be lowered to half-mast in respect for recently deceased civil servants, including a former Supreme Court justice.
While the orders do not apply to flags on private property and land, residents and businesses in an area with an active order to fly the flag at half-staff may also do so if they have such a flag on their property.
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Pennsylvania
Governor Josh Shapiro has ordered that all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings, and property in York County, Pennsylvania, must fly the U.S. and Commonwealth flags at half-staff beginning August 22. This gesture honors Fire Police Officer Brian Peek, a Newberry Township resident who passed away on Friday, August 16, 2024.
The governor has asked that flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of Peek’s internment, which has not yet been set.
Massachusetts
Governor Maura Healey has ordered that from Thursday, August 22, through Saturday, August 24, all flags on state buildings be flown at half-staff in honor of Specialist Xavier M. Powell, Massachusetts Army National Guard of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who passed away on Sunday, August 11.
New Jersey
New Jersey Supreme Court Associate Justice James H. Coleman Jr. will be honored with the flag at half-staff throughout the state from Friday, August 23, through Sunday, August 25, when memorial services will be held.
Coleman was the first black justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey and served from 1994 to 2003.
“Judge Coleman was a trailblazer for justice in New Jersey,” Acting Governor Tahesha Way said in a statement after his death. “Born to a black sharecropper in racially segregated Virginia, Judge Coleman’s life embodies the intertwined history of inequality and progress in our country.”
“His historic appointment to the New Jersey Supreme Court broke down racial barriers by demonstrating that communities of color can be represented at the highest levels of our judiciary. We extend our condolences to his loved ones and will be forever grateful for his extraordinary life of service to the nation.”
Virginia
Governor Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags on all state and local buildings and properties to be flown at half-staff in memory of former Virginia State Delegate Theodore “Ted” Virgil Morrison, Jr.
The flags will be lowered at sunrise on Friday, August 23, 2024, and will remain at half-mast until sunset.
