Why are flags flying at half-staff in PA? The tradition behind monthlong directive
Flags are flying at half-staff across the nation and here in Pennsylvania, and they won’t be raised any time soon.
As of Dec. 30, the lowered flag is a national observance following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. He is America’s longest-lived president.
It is an American tradition to fly flags at half-staff for 30 days after a president or former president dies. The standard was established in the Federal Register in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
President Joe Biden’s statement announcing the death of the 39th president issues a flag directive for 30 days in accordance with that tradition. Additionally, Biden has designated Thursday, Jan. 9 as a national day of mourning.
“I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.,” Biden stated in the proclamation. “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”
Carter served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981, before losing his reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan. Though his presidency was marked by turbulence, afterward, he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center and lived a life of service through humanitarian work.
Carter will lie in state at The Capitol before a state funeral Jan. 9.
The directive to lower flags to half-staff across Pennsylvania was issued Dec. 29 by Gov. Josh Shapiro.
In a tweet Sunday evening, Shapiro called Carter a “humble, generous, and admirable public servant.”
Because the directive lasts through Tuesday, Jan. 28, flags will be lowered during President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, Jan. 20. The last time this occurred was in 1973, when the observation of former President Harry Truman’s death overlapped with former President Richard Nixon’s second inauguration.
Why are flags lowered in Pennsylvania?
In Pennsylvania, the U.S. flag is ordered to half-staff upon the directive of the sitting governor and applies to the flag on all public buildings and grounds.
Shapiro’s Sunday directive to lower flag includes not only the American flag, but the commonwealth’s state flag, as well.
Pennsylvania provides flag notifications through the state’s AlertPA Code Red system, which you can sign up for online.
McClatchy reporter Karlee Van De Venter contributed to this report.