Homeowners association may sue vet for flying flag

Homeowners associations have gotten so out of control that every story about their outrages seems almost anticlimactic. But this story is almost too much to bear.

In Clermont, Florida, a Navy war veteran may face a lawsuit by a homeowners association for flying the U.S. flag in his front yard.

It's clear the homeowners association has no case. I thought the United States Flag Code permits any American to respectfully fly Old Glory any time they opt to do so. Florida state law says the same.

That said, homeowners associations have little real legal recourse regarding most other matters too. But the center of debate has moved too far in homeowners associations' favor. Today, too many Americans take it for granted that they must surrender most of their autonomy to such a construct. Homeowners associations are organized under corporate law - not under the laws that form cities and municipalities, which legally have more power. By being in effect private corporations, the associations have been able to evade constitutional provisions that apply to city governments. By the same token, however, their power to enforce their rules is legally limited.

A lot of folks think the associations have a legal right to enforce petty guidelines that never would have held up if a city tried to enforce them. When you look at the law, quite the opposite is true.

Incidentally, the right-wing thought police at Freak Rethuglic is bashing the retired Navy man who chose to fly the flag. A Freeper cried, "This moron needs to shut up, and follow the rules he agreed to." Wrong again, Freeper loudmouth. The homeowners association needs to shut up, and follow the laws it agreed to when it decided to organize in the United States. I know of no real legal theory that permits these associations to turn neighborhoods into dictatorial fiefdoms.

(Source: http://www.local6.com/news/16399678/detail.html)