Dear Johnnie: How many days this year have the flags been at half-staff? — Curious
Dear Curious: Your question didn’t come to me in the usual way, but given that today is Flag Day, it’s worth answering.
Orders to fly flags at half staff come from the governor’s office, so I checked there to find out which days this year flags have been lowered in Colorado.
A spokeswoman there noted that the governor follows the Colorado and U.S. flag codes when ordering flags to fly at half-staff. “For example, for line of duty deaths, flags are lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of the service. The governor has the discretion to order the Colorado flag lowered when deemed appropriate in response to a specific incident, such as a statewide or national tragedy,” she said.
This year, through the end of May, the flags had been lowered for at least 50 days.
Monday, Jan. 11 (three days), to honor United States Capitol police officers, as proclaimed by President Trump.
Friday, Jan. 29 (one day), to honor a Westminster Fire Capt. David Sagel, who died from work-related cancer.
Saturday, Feb. 5 (one day), to honor an FBI Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, who was killed in the line of duty. The Colorado native was killed in Florida.
Thursday, Feb. 18 (one day), to honor the passing of former Colorado Rep. Val Vigil.
Monday, Feb. 22 (five days), to honor the 500,000 Americans lost due to COVID-19, as proclaimed by President Biden.
Thursday, March 18 (five days), to honor the victims of the shooting in the Atlanta metropolitan area, as proclaimed by President Biden.
Tuesday, March 23 (10 days), to honor the victims of the shooting at the King Soopers in Boulder.
Saturday, March 27 (one day, but included in previous 10 days), to honor of Nucla Naturita Fire Protection District Chief Chester Riley, who suffered a fatal heart attack on the scene of a motor vehicle crash.
Tuesday, April 6 (one day), to honor victims of the attack at the United States Capitol on April 2, as proclaimed by President Biden.
Friday, April 16 (two days), to honor the victims of the mass shooting in Indianapolis, as proclaimed by President Biden.
Tuesday, April 20 (seven days). I could not find the reason for this order, although it appears to have been connected to the Indianapolis shooting.
Tuesday, May 11 (eight days), to honor the victims of the Colorado Springs shooting.
Wednesday, May 26 (five days), to honor the victims of the mass shooting in San Jose, Calif., as proclaimed by President Biden.
On Memorial Day, flags are flow at half-staff from sunrise until noon.
Curious, there might have been one or two that I missed. And some proclamation dates might encompass other proclamation dates.
Some days, there are conflicting rules about flags. For instance, flags are to be lowered on Peace Officers Memorial Day, which falls on May 15. However, May 15 was the third Saturday of the month, which is Armed Forces Day. On that day, flags are to be flown full staff. According to the Washington Post, President Biden issued the half-staff order in advance of the date, only to change that to a full-staff order on May 14.
Send questions to johnnie@times-call.com.
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June 14, 2021 at 07:12PM
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Johnnie St. Vrain: How many times have flags flown at half-staff? - Longmont Times-Call
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