Quote:
Originally posted by bekibug
The US Flag Code is public law, as of 12/22/1942. According to Section 10:
Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable; and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set forth in a proclamation.
Note that this is Section 10 in its entirety. The President is the only one given authority to change the Flag Code. Therefore, why is Congress bothering/how are they getting away with it?
My source is http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html#5
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I'm 60% drunk and won't be in the office until Tuesday (thanks patent litigation!), but I would all but guarantee that this section has two important limitations:
1 - 'rule or custom' is not equivalent to 'law'
2 - 'display of the flag' may or may not refer to how the flag is to be displayed by official government entities, and not necessarily the layman.
Also you raise a good point with regard to the involvement of Congress, but the reality is that the only way Congress can circumvent this sort of restriction is through the amendment process . . . which is what they're doing. So essentially they're superceding this policy.
Separation of powers and all that.