Story highlights Baldwin County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey said the Orlando massacre doesn't meet the standards to lower the flag

President Barack Obama ordered flags to be lowered following the Orlando massacre

Washington (CNN) Officials in an Alabama county refused to lower flags to half-staff to honor the victims of the Orlando mass shooting this week even after President Barack Obama and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered flags to be lowered.

Citing the U.S. Flag Code , Baldwin County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey told CNN's Erin Burnett on "OutFront" Friday that while he is "certainly heartbroken in the face of tragedy," the code states that the flag should only be lowered "for instances where there are the passing of individuals who have given significant distinguished service to our country."

Dorsey added that the code states that the flag is to be lowered on Memorial Day and to commemorate the deaths of government officials.

"I look at the terrorist events and I think about our flag and about how it identifies and characterizes the mood of the country," Dorsey said. "When I think about, for instance, 9/11, I kind of picture the three firemen raising the flag in the rubble the next day after the event. That's really how I feel about it."

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