February 06, 2007
Mother of Soldier Told She Cannot Fly a Flag Outside Her Condo
Teresa Richard of East Windsor, Connecticut, is at odds with her condo association. She has both an American flag and a Blue Star flag on a pole in front of her condo, in honor of her son who is fighting in Afghanistan.
The condo association says the flags are in violation of "common areas" rules, and has given her until Labor Day to fly her flags without penalty. After Labor Day, she will be imposed with a $25/day fine if the flags remain.
In addition to contacting the East Windsor Veterans Association, who wrote a letter to the association on her behalf,
Richard is waiting for other heavy hitters to weigh in, hopefully on her side. Richard has contacted the offices of U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and state Rep. Ted Graziani, D-Ellington. They have yet to respond, she said.
"They said they'd get back to me, but I never heard from them," she said.
Another resident of the complex, Gene Doering, threatened to sue the association if it tried to make him take down his American flag, and he hasn't heard from them since.
Both Doering and Richard cited Public Law 109-243 as their legal right to display the American flag. The federal bill, passed in July 2006, prohibits a condominium association from adopting a policy that "would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag of the United States on residential property within the association."
I understand that condominium complexes must have rules and standards about their common areas; otherwise, the complexes could become trashy and undesirable looking to both residents and prospective residents. But an American flag? A Blue Star flag? Can't the association make an exception?
What do you think?
Photo: Hartford Courant
Show Comments »
Not only should she be permitted to fly the flag, my question is - why is ANYONE objecting?
Furthermore, the law is pretty doggone clear - so the condo association needs to back the heck off! As part of their CCR (Codes, Covenants and Restrictions) I'm sure there is a stipulation that any restriction that is in violation of the laws of the Federal, state or local government is null and void.
I can see the ACLU getting behind the condo association. Anything to break Americans from being Americans.
Posted by: Mike at February 6, 2007 01:44 PMYou never know, someone might find their own country's flag "offensive." What happened with the giant flag they were trying to make Trump take down in Florida?
Posted by: Van Helsing at February 6, 2007 02:29 PM"...why is ANYONE objecting?"
Answer: Connecticut. One of the Bluest of the Blue States. These were the same lemmings who selected Ned "Anyone Remember Me Now?" Lamont over Joe Lieberman in the Dem Primary - the closest thing you're likely to find to Americans who find the U.S. Flag "offensive" (let alone patriotism and support of our forces in the ME).
Good, but unconfirmed news: on T.V. last night I'm fairly certain I saw an excerpt from a response by the Attorney General's office, supporting Richard's right to fly the flag(s). If true it means the media will likely bury the story.
Posted by: goy at February 7, 2007 11:06 AMLets get the facts straight before you continue the bashing. This is a condominium association, not a homeowner's association. That means the lady doesn't own the yard she stuck the pole in. Its owned in common with all of the other owners. And its not about the flag, its about the pole. She's perfectly free to fly the flag in any piece of property she owns, which is anywhere inside the unit. She conveniently omits the balance of the section when citing the "Freedom to Display the American Flag Act": "A condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association may not adopt or enforce any policy, or enter into any agreement, that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag of the United States on residential property within the association [NOTE THE REST] with respect to which such member has a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use." She doesn't have a "separate ownership interest" in that yard.
Its never really about the flag, usually its about the pole. But news stories rarely find a pole interesting, unless there's an American flag attached to it, so the story, and all of this rhetoric is aimed at the unpaid volunteers, elected by the owners who are required to enforce the rules they all agreed to abide by when when they chose to move in. The fact that they didn't just remove the pole and send her a bill says they're at least trying to deal with a sensitive issue as best they can. They don't need to be beaten about the head and shoulders for doing what ANYONE in their position would HAVE to do. Its not about standards and rules, its simply not her property.
Would she be honoring her son any less by placing the flag on a nice wooden pole in her living room? Of course not. So its about the pole and its location, not what's attached to it.
Posted by: Joe at February 7, 2007 12:23 PMWhat's wrong with this picture? It's alright to burn the flag, but not alright to fly it when it offends the sensibilities of condo-associations or city councils as is the case with Donald Trump's woes with his flag at his beach resort. This is ridiculous and Americans better snap themselves out of it before the country is run by adoptive-gay couples, Islamo-fascists and their sympathizers and teen anarchists.
Posted by: Bob Dylan at February 7, 2007 01:04 PMA sad commentary on the state of patriotism in America today. Legal technicalities aside, one would think the condo association could make an exception. That is, if they weren't America-haters.
Posted by: Reverse_Vampyr at February 7, 2007 06:03 PMThe property is not hers, plain and simple, end of story. She knew when she moved in it wasn't hers. It's not about a flag, it's about property rights. Even if the condo did make an exception, what happens when the flag is not maintained and now they have a dingy looking flag with holes hanging in their association neighborhood. Rules are very strict for good reason.
Posted by: J Morgan at February 8, 2007 06:27 PM
