AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A Texas legislator wants to make sure "under God" is not left out when Lone Star Flags are retired.
State Sen. Glenn Hegar told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that when the pledge to the Texas flag was amended a few years ago to add the phrase, it was left out of the words used in flag retirement.
He said Jonathan Sturgis, a Scout leader in Sugar Land who often retires U.S. and Texas flags with his Cub pack, brought the omission to his attention.
Under state law, flags that are "no longer used or useful as an emblem" are to be destroyed, preferably by burning or burying, in a dignified ceremony with uniformed personnel.
The ceremony should include reading a history of the Texas flag and an explanation of the red, white, blue and lone star.
The ceremony ends with the pledge: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible."
With Hegar's change, the pledge would say, "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible," matching the retirement pledge to what schoolchildren and government employees say daily or weekly.
