As you go about your day today, you may notice Texas flags flying at half-staff Thursday across the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the flags at half-staff for the memorial of Congressman Sylvester Turner of Houston through Friday, March 7.
Flags should return to full-staff by sunrise on Saturday, March 8.
Who is Sylvester Turner?
U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner served Texas’s 18th Congressional District in Houston from January 2025 until his death on March 5. He was 70.
A member of the Democratic Party, Turner previously served as the 62nd mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024 and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1989 to 2016.
“Texas has lost a longtime leader and dedicated public servant with the passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner,” a release from the governor’s office stated. “On behalf of Texas, the First Lady and I offer our thoughts and prayers to the Turner family in their time of mourning. I urge all Texans to appropriately remember Sylvester Turner’s service to Texas.”
When are flags flown at half-staff?
There are specific holidays and events when flags are flown at half-staff in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website. That includes:
- Memorial Day, when the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
- Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day.
- Patriot Day.
- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
- National Firefighters Memorial Day.
President Dwight Eisenhower also issued a proclamation on the proper times for flying the flag at half-staff when government officials die. That includes:
- 30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president.
- 10 days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives.
- From the date of death until interment for an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, or the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
- The date of death and the following day of a United States senator, representative, territorial delegate, or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It should also be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory, or commonwealth of these officials.
- From the date of death until interment for the governor of a state, territory or possession.
The president may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff to commemorate the death of other officials, former officials or foreign dignitaries, in addition to tragic events. For instance, on Oct. 7, Abbott declared Monday a statewide Day of Observance for Israel in Texas and asked residents to hold a moment of silence for the people of Israel and the seven Americans who remained hostages.
