 | |
| Use | Civil and state flag    |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 27:37 (both 2:3 and 3:5 in use) |
| Adopted | June 13, 1907 |
| Design | A state coat of arms on a blue field |
The flag of Pennsylvania consists of a blue field on which the state coat of arms is displayed.
| | |
| Use | Civil and state flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 27:37 (both 2:3 and 3:5 in use) |
| Adopted | June 13, 1907 |
| Design | A state coat of arms on a blue field |
The flag of Pennsylvania consists of a blue field on which the state coat of arms is displayed.
The flag of Pennsylvania is a blue field (by law, the same blue as the flag of the United States) charged with the state coat of arms.
On April 9, 1799, the Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized the use of the state coat of arms on flags for the state militia. [1] These flags took various forms, most commonly featuring the coat of arms either replacing the field of stars in the union of the US flag, or being placed alone on a field of blue. The depiction of the coat of arms would also vary from flag to flag, as the colors in the escutcheon of the arms were changed in 1809, and the color of the horses was not standardized until 1875. [2]
The legislature eventually chose to create a standardized flag for general use, featuring a now-standardized coat of arms alone on a plain field of blue mandated to be the "same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States". [3] This new flag was enacted by law on June 13, 1907. [4]
The Pennsylvania flag has been criticized for the complexity of its design, and its inability to stand out from other similar state flags across the US. Several attempts have been made by the Pennsylvania legislature and the public to address these criticisms by changing or altering the flag.
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 100 of its members and 337 members of the general public on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked Pennsylvania's flag 57th out of the 72, with a score of 3.69 on a scale of 0 to 10. [5] Its low ranking was attributed to both the complexity of the coat of arms on its design, and its inability to stand out among a sea of similar “seal on a bedsheet” designs common to more than half of U.S. state flags. [6]
Between 2004 and 2014, several attempts were made to add the word "Pennsylvania" to the state flag. According to former State Representative Tim Solobay (who introduced the first set of bills), this was intended to make Pennsylvania's flag more unique and identifiable. [7]
While the bill failed to leave committee in the first two sessions it was introduced, [8] [9] a 2006 survey offered by Solobay's office [10] to help refine the defined design may have swayed legislators to act on the bill, which was amended on May 7, 2007. [11] On June 11, 2007, The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, 164–31. [7] The Senate State Government Committee never considered the bill, which died at the end of the Pennsylvania General Assembly's two-year session.
The bill was reintroduced by Solobay in 2009, [12] and on the next session day, a second similar bill was introduced by former State Representative Gary Haluska with a competing definition of the design. [13] Neither bill was raised in committee that session. Haluska's proposal was reintroduced alone in both the 2011–12 [14] and 2013–14 sessions, [15] and died in committee both times.
In 2017 the "Keystone Flag" was designed by Tara Stark, [16] a Pennsylvania resident. [17] The flag incorporates the keystone, a symbol already used in official capacities by the Pennsylvania National Guard [18] and departments within the government of Pennsylvania into a tricolor design using the colors on the coat of arms of Pennsylvania [19] as an intentional callback to the symbolism of the existing flag. [20] [16]
The flag gained popularity in online vexillological circles, winning multiple online contests, and began receiving wider attention following high-profile changes to the flag of Mississippi and the flag of Utah. The design was formally released into the public domain in August 2022. [21] Stark launched a Kickstarter campaign in November 2022 to print flags and create other merchandise featuring the design, raising more than $4,500, and the design later began being sold by multiple unrelated manufacturers. It has since seen more popular use, notably including on a lapel pin worn by one state legislator, [22] and has been referenced by multiple media outlets. [23] [24] [25]
On June 16, 2023, Pennsylvania State Representative Joe Webster released a memorandum proposing a commission to "study the history of the state flag, solicit design submissions for a new state flag, and recommend changes to the state flag." [26] To this end, House Resolution 163 was introduced on June 27, 2023. [27]
The national flag of Aruba was adopted on 18 March 1976, along with the official anthem "Aruba Dushi Tera". The flag was partially designed by vexillologist Whitney Smith. On 18 March Aruba celebrates National Anthem and Flag Day, marked by local events across the island. It is also a significant day as it represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands giving Aruba an autonomous status.
The flag of Georgia is the flag of the U.S. state of Georgia. Its current iteration was adopted on February 19, 2003. The flag bears three horizontal stripes and features a blue canton containing a ring of 13 white stars that encircle the state's gold-colored coat of arms. The ring of stars that encompass the state's coat of arms represents Georgia as one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
The flag of the state of Michigan is a coat of arms set on a dark blue field, as set forth by Michigan state law. The governor has a variant of the flag with a white field instead of blue one. The state has an official flag month from June 14 through July 14.
The national flag of the Principality of Andorra features a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra in the center. Although the three vertical bars may at first appear to be of equal width, the centre yellow bar is slightly wider than the other two so that the ratio of bar widths is 8:9:8 with an overall flag ratio of 7:10.
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch or vault to bear weight. In arches and vaults keystones are often enlarged beyond the structural requirements and decorated. A variant in domes and crowning vaults is a lantern. A portion of the arch surrounding the keystone is called a crown.
The national flag of East Timor is one of the official symbols of East Timor. It consists of a red field with the black isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side bearing a white five-pointed star in the center superimposed on the larger yellow triangle, also based on the hoist-side, that extends to the center of the flag.
The flag of Crimea is the flag of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine and the Republic of Crimea controlled by Russia. The flag was officially adopted on 24 September 1992 as the flag of the Republic of Crimea, readopted on 21 April 1999, then readopted on 4 June 2014 as the flag of the Republic of Crimea, annexed by the Russian Federation.
In response to court action in a number of states, the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.
Jeffrey E. Piccola is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 15th District from 1995 to 2012 including as Republican Whip from 2001 to 2006. He also served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 104th District from 1977 to 1995.
The flag of Wisconsin is the official flag of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The flag was first adopted in 1863, and was modified in 1979. It is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms of Wisconsin.
Elisabeth Baker (née Jones) is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 20th District since 2007. She chairs the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee.
Steven Samuelson is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was elected to his 13th term in November 2022 and is the chair of the Finance Committee.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Pennsylvania was the final Mid-Atlantic state without same-sex marriage, indeed lacking any form of same-sex recognition law until its statutory ban was overturned on May 20, 2014.
Sixteen U.S. states have personal flags for their governors, as does the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. These flags are analogous to the standards of the president and vice president of the United States. Most of their designs are based upon either the state flag or state seal/coat of arms.
Dave Madsen is an American politician who is currently the representative for Pennsylvania's 104th District. He had previously served as a member of the Harrisburg City Council for five years starting in 2017.
