A National Embarrassment in the U.S. Flag Code

Don Brown | July 21, 2026

At Marvin Ridge High School in Union County, North Carolina, a senior named Luke simply wanted to paint the American flag on his parking space. Good for Luke, who, according to his mother, is preparing to enlist in the U.S. military. Luke made the request because the school allows seniors to personalize their spots. What should have been an unremarkable expression of patriotism instead became a revealing controversy.

According to reports, including a post by Union County Commissioner Melissa Merrell (herself a former chair of the county school board) and statements from Luke’s mom, the school’s initial denial did not cite the U.S. Flag Code. The design was rejected because administrators viewed the American flag as potentially “political” or possibly “offensive.” The controversy created considerable media and social media attention. Only after pushback did the school retreat to a new justification: their claim that the Flag Code supposedly forbids it.

That second excuse is dead wrong.

While some well-intentioned patriots might express the opinion that a depiction of the flag should not be painted on a parking lot, or driven on, the U.S. Flag Code itself, codified at 4 U.S.C. §§ 1–10, is primarily a set of advisory guidelines for the respectful treatment of the physical flag of the United States -- the actual cloth (or other material) object that is flown, carried, or draped. Section 8, the core “Respect for flag” provision, repeatedly refers to “the flag” as a tangible item that should not touch the ground, be used as apparel or drapery, have marks placed upon it, or be employed for advertising. These rules govern how one handles the real flag.........

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