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IMPORTANT: Flag Day Ceremony
You may hear gun shots, but do not be alarmed
I got an email earlier this month from the school district administration. It was capitalized “IMPORTANT” and it was to inform us that somewhere in the district, there would be held a Flag Day ceremony with a 21 gun salute during a 45-minute period. The school administration was kind enough to let us know that this meant there would be gunshots heard throughout the community at a specific time that day.
The email ended with the following sentence:
“In the event that gunshots are heard around this time, please do not be alarmed”.
A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor and if there’s a right time to do this salute, it would be during a national flag day, independence day, or at a time when veterans are honored. These are all appropriate times for a salute.
Still, it is gunshots.
Several gunshots over a 45-minute period after a string of devastating mass shootings. That can be scary for a kid to hear, especially a child who is old enough to understand what a mass shooting is but still young enough to have fun playing playing…
