...
By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Flags will fly at half-staff in two states this weekend to mark local losses and tragedies.
Why It Matters
Half-staff orders are a public sign of mourning and respect, marking solemn remembrances such as, in these cases, a high school shooting and honoring a fallen service member.
Read More on News
...
What To Know
Flags in Florida will be lowered on Saturday to honor the victims of the 2018 Parkland shooting, and in Massachusetts on Sunday to honor U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Russell Arnold, according to half-staff notices.
Florida’s governor directed that the United States and State of Florida flags be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout Florida from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, February 14, 2026, in memory of the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The Florida notice recounts that 17 individuals—Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Christopher Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang—were killed in the February 14, 2018 shooting in Parkland.
The Parkland commemoration reflects national conversations about preventing firearm violence, while research organizations have noted persistent gaps in data and funding that complicate policy evaluation.
Those bodies include the RAND Corporation, which runs a long‑standing research program called Gun Policy in America, analyzes the scientific evidence on how U.S. gun laws affect outcomes such as homicide, suicide, mass shootings, and crime.
Massachusetts will lower the United States and Commonwealth of Massachusetts flags from sunrise until sunset on Sunday, February 15, 2026, the day of interment, to honor U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Russell Arnold of Boston.
The Massachusetts order applies to the main or administration building of each public institution of the Commonwealth, other state-owned or state-controlled buildings, and all state military installations, according to the alert.
The Massachusetts notice states that the directive was issued by Governor Maura Healey and specifies observance on the day of interment for Arnold, providing time-of-day guidance for flag display.
What People Are Saying
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said: “Students, teachers, and faculty showed great courage in the face of danger on that fatal day. The sacrifices of these heroes, as well as the brave actions of first responders, will never be forgotten.
"In memory of the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, February 14, 2026.”
According to a RAND Corporation research summary updated January 29, 2026, "Throughout the course of the Gun Policy in America project, we consistently found inadequate evidence for the likely effects of different gun policies on a wide range of outcomes.
"This does not, of course, mean that the policies have no effects, but instead reflects methodological challenges and the relatively scarce attention that has been focused on better understanding these effects.
"This is partly because, for the past three decades, the U.S. government has been reluctant to sponsor work in this area at levels comparable to its investment in other areas of public safety and health, such as transportation safety."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines