Homeowner¹s Fight Involves Flag Tied to Tea Party
By MARC LACEY

LAVEEN, Ariz. ‹ Don¹t tread on Andy C. McDonel.

This year, Mr. McDonel began flying a yellow ³Don¹t Tread on Me² flag
on his roof in this unincorporated area just outside Phoenix. The
historic banner ‹ which dates to 1775, when it was hoisted aboard ships
during the initial days of the Revolutionary War ‹ has been adopted by
the Tea Party movement. But Mr. McDonel said that he had unfurled the
flag for its historical significance and nothing else.

He notes that the banner, the Gadsden flag, has been widely used over
the years and was even featured on the cover of a rock album. ³Am I a
Metallica fan because I¹m using the flag?² he asked.

This month, he received a letter from the homeowners¹ association
ordering him to remove ³the debris² from his roof. It threatened fines
if the debris (i.e., the flag) did not go within 10 days. But Mr.
McDonel, 32, a logistics operation manager, has vowed to fight the
order.

³It¹s a patriotic gesture,² he said of his banner. ³It¹s a historic
military flag. It represents the founding fathers. It shows this nation
was born out of an idea.²

The Avalon Village Community Association, which sent the letter, takes
a strict interpretation of the state statute that allows Arizonans the
right to fly a variety of flags ‹ the Stars and Stripes, the state
flag, flags representing Indian nations as well as the official flags
of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

The listing of acceptable flags stems from a dispute several years ago
in nearby Chandler, Ariz., in which a woman with a son serving in Iraq
was challenged by her homeowners¹ association for flying the Marine
Corps flag. State legislators intervened.

The Arizona law, says the homeowners¹ association butting heads with
Mr. McDonel, does not give residents authorization to fly anything else
on their properties. That means no pennants bearing sports team logos,
no Jolly Rogers, no rainbow banners celebrating gay pride and no
historic flags showing a coiled rattlesnake bearing its fangs.

As Javier B. Delgado, a lawyer for the homeowners¹ association, put it
in a statement on the association¹s Web site:

³Should the Arizona Legislature expand the Community Association Flag
Display Statute to include the Gadsden Flag, the Association will
accommodate Mr. McDonel¹s desire to display it. Bottom-line, anyone
considering residing in a community association should carefully review
the association¹s governing documents beforehand to ensure that the
community is a good fit for them.²

Mr. McDonel knows the rules well since, until July, he was a member of
his homeowners¹ association¹s board of directors. He resigned in a
dispute with the board¹s president and shortly thereafter received his
first debris notice. That one concerned a treadmill that he had left on
his porch, which he admits was a violation of the rules. His second
debris warning, which came weeks after that, concerned the flag, which
had been up for about six months.

³If this is a grudge, it¹s sad that the funds that the homeowners put
into the association are being wasted on such a petty matter,² Mr.
McDonel said.

Mr. Delgado, whose law firm represents thousands of homeowners¹
associations, denies that any dispute among board members led to the
citation of Mr. McDonel¹s property. ³There is still the potential for
dialogue on both sides,² he said, indicating that no fines had yet been
levied.

The homeowners¹ association represents a community of tract homes in
what had been a sprawling agricultural area.

A survey of Mr. McDonel¹s neighbors after the dispute drew the
attention of the local news media revealed more concern about the
television trucks that have been parking in front of his property than
the flag flapping on his roof.

After Mr. McDonel¹s standoff was picked up by the media, the American
Civil Liberties Union of Arizona jumped in on Mr. McDonel¹s side,
arguing that homeowners¹ associations do not have the right to ³hijack²
the free speech rights of their members. The A.C.L.U. fired off a
letter to the association on Monday that seeks a meeting with Mr.
Delgado to resolve the matter without going as far as a lawsuit.

³We¹re urging the homeowners¹ association to adopt a less limited
interpretation of the statute,² said Dan Pochoda, the legal director
for the civil liberties group. ³The Gadsden flag meets the spirit of
the law. It¹s a historic military flag. Many consider it the original
American flag, before the Stars and Stripes.²

As for the political significance that the flag has taken on in this
election season, Mr. Pochoda was uninterested, saying that Mr.
McDonel¹s motivation for flying the flag was irrelevant to the dispute.
³We didn¹t ask him,² Mr. Pochoda said.

As the flag becomes more popular ‹ it was on prominent display on the
Washington Mall last weekend during a rally organized by the
conservative commentator Glenn Beck ‹ more such disputes are expected.
Already, a Colorado homeowner flying the same flag is locked in a
standoff with his homeowners¹ association. And in Connecticut, a group
of retired Marines is challenging the Capitol Police¹s decision
blocking the Gadsden flag from being flown over the State Capitol.

--
Best Regards, Keith
http://home.comcast.net/~kilowattradio/
Don't pay the Ferryman until he gets you to the other side!

Keith wrote:
Homeowner¹s Fight Involves Flag Tied to Tea Party
By MARC LACEY

LAVEEN, Ariz. ‹ Don¹t tread on Andy C. McDonel.

This year, Mr. McDonel began flying a yellow ³Don¹t Tread on Me² flag
on his roof in this unincorporated area just outside Phoenix. The
historic banner ‹ which dates to 1775, when it was hoisted aboard ships
during the initial days of the Revolutionary War ‹ has been adopted by
the Tea Party movement. But Mr. McDonel said that he had unfurled the
flag for its historical significance and nothing else.

He notes that the banner, the Gadsden flag, has been widely used over
the years and was even featured on the cover of a rock album. ³Am I a
Metallica fan because I¹m using the flag?² he asked.

This month, he received a letter from the homeowners¹ association
ordering him to remove ³the debris² from his roof. It threatened fines
if the debris (i.e., the flag) did not go within 10 days. But Mr.
McDonel, 32, a logistics operation manager, has vowed to fight the
order.

³It¹s a patriotic gesture,² he said of his banner. ³It¹s a historic
military flag. It represents the founding fathers. It shows this nation
was born out of an idea.²

The Avalon Village Community Association, which sent the letter, takes
a strict interpretation of the state statute that allows Arizonans the
right to fly a variety of flags ‹ the Stars and Stripes, the state
flag, flags representing Indian nations as well as the official flags
of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

The listing of acceptable flags stems from a dispute several years ago
in nearby Chandler, Ariz., in which a woman with a son serving in Iraq
was challenged by her homeowners¹ association for flying the Marine
Corps flag. State legislators intervened.

The Arizona law, says the homeowners¹ association butting heads with
Mr. McDonel, does not give residents authorization to fly anything else
on their properties. That means no pennants bearing sports team logos,
no Jolly Rogers, no rainbow banners celebrating gay pride and no
historic flags showing a coiled rattlesnake bearing its fangs.

As Javier B. Delgado, a lawyer for the homeowners¹ association, put it
in a statement on the association¹s Web site:

³Should the Arizona Legislature expand the Community Association Flag
Display Statute to include the Gadsden Flag, the Association will
accommodate Mr. McDonel¹s desire to display it. Bottom-line, anyone
considering residing in a community association should carefully review
the association¹s governing documents beforehand to ensure that the
community is a good fit for them.²

Mr. McDonel knows the rules well since, until July, he was a member of
his homeowners¹ association¹s board of directors. He resigned in a
dispute with the board¹s president and shortly thereafter received his
first debris notice. That one concerned a treadmill that he had left on
his porch, which he admits was a violation of the rules. His second
debris warning, which came weeks after that, concerned the flag, which
had been up for about six months.

³If this is a grudge, it¹s sad that the funds that the homeowners put
into the association are being wasted on such a petty matter,² Mr.
McDonel said.

Mr. Delgado, whose law firm represents thousands of homeowners¹
associations, denies that any dispute among board members led to the
citation of Mr. McDonel¹s property. ³There is still the potential for
dialogue on both sides,² he said, indicating that no fines had yet been
levied.

The homeowners¹ association represents a community of tract homes in
what had been a sprawling agricultural area.

A survey of Mr. McDonel¹s neighbors after the dispute drew the
attention of the local news media revealed more concern about the
television trucks that have been parking in front of his property than
the flag flapping on his roof.

After Mr. McDonel¹s standoff was picked up by the media, the American
Civil Liberties Union of Arizona jumped in on Mr. McDonel¹s side,
arguing that homeowners¹ associations do not have the right to ³hijack²
the free speech rights of their members. The A.C.L.U. fired off a
letter to the association on Monday that seeks a meeting with Mr.
Delgado to resolve the matter without going as far as a lawsuit.

³We¹re urging the homeowners¹ association to adopt a less limited
interpretation of the statute,² said Dan Pochoda, the legal director
for the civil liberties group. ³The Gadsden flag meets the spirit of
the law. It¹s a historic military flag. Many consider it the original
American flag, before the Stars and Stripes.²

As for the political significance that the flag has taken on in this
election season, Mr. Pochoda was uninterested, saying that Mr.
McDonel¹s motivation for flying the flag was irrelevant to the dispute.
³We didn¹t ask him,² Mr. Pochoda said.

As the flag becomes more popular ‹ it was on prominent display on the
Washington Mall last weekend during a rally organized by the
conservative commentator Glenn Beck ‹ more such disputes are expected.
Already, a Colorado homeowner flying the same flag is locked in a
standoff with his homeowners¹ association. And in Connecticut, a group
of retired Marines is challenging the Capitol Police¹s decision
blocking the Gadsden flag from being flown over the State Capitol.