Police Support Flag Doesn't Violate Flag Code

Misbar discovered that the thin blue line flag was created in 2014 by a college student from Detroit who found the outcry against police violence distasteful, according to MSNBC. Since then, the flag has mostly been used as a sign of support for police. However, some believe the flag has come to signal opposition to the racial justice movement and a symbol of white supremacy or support for the Blue Lives Matter cause. 

The social media claims propose the thin blue line flag violates the U.S. flag code. One of the Facebook posts that was shared over 30,000 times mentions “including discoloration” as part of the flag code and infers this is the reason for the violation. However, according to Cornell Law School, discoloration is not mentioned in the code about respecting the flag: “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.”

Others may argue that the thin blue line flag is not an American flag at all. According to Section 1 of the flag code: “The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.” 

According to the Marshall Project: “The American Legion, which played a key role in drafting the Flag Code and is the go-to authority on proper U.S. flag etiquette, has not taken an official position yet on the black-and-white version with a blue line.”