Community Bans Woman's 'Support Our Troops' Sign

[darrels joy]

Community Bans Woman's 'Support Our Troops' Sign

POSTED: 12:52 pm EST March 10, 2006
UPDATED: 4:39 pm EST March 10, 2006

A community association board in Tampa, Fla., voted Thursday night to ban a 'Support Our Troops' sign posted by a solider's wife, according to a report.


"I feel that your home is where your heart is and right now my husband is in Iraq and that's where my heart is so I want to show everyone that I support what he is doing," Stacy Kelley said.




Stacy Kelly, whose husband David is in Iraq with the U.S. Army, recently posted a sign in her yard to support him.


"I feel that your home is where your heart is and right now my husband is in Iraq and that's where my heart is, so I want to show everyone that I support what he is doing," Kelley said.

The Westchase Homeowner's Association asked Kelley to remove the sign because it violated association policy. Association President Daryl Manning said the rules about signs are in place to keep the community clean and keep the peace.

"The concern that we have is what if the neighbor across the street does not support the troops or is against the administration and starts putting up those types of signs," Manning said. "So, here we have a war of the signs and we definitely do not want to get into that."

Thursday night, the seven association board members voted that the sign would have to come down.

Board members proposed placing the sign to the front of the swim and tennis center but Kelley reportedly refused the compromise, according to a St. Petersburg Times report.

Stacy faces fines of $100 a day for up to 10 days for the association rules violation.

There was no word on what Kelley planned to do.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

[melody1181]

Good lord. I will never NEVER buy a house in a neighborhood with any kind of association. A man put up a flag pole in one here and shit flew. Its ridiculous. People have to much time and stupid on their hands.

If I were Stacy I'd say F em, the sign stays until my husband comes home and fines be damned.

[SuperScout]

When will these HOA Nazis realize that the 1st Amendment trumps association rules, everytime? A tasteful, non-intrusive sign, irrespective of message, must be allowed.

[Jerry D]

Well I guess Florida will have to pass a Veterans Memorial Law to protect folks like Stacy Kelley. I think Georgia's law passed awhile back would protect her right to have a veterans memorial on her property if she lived here.

Georgia Code:50-3-1.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other entity acting without authority to mutilate, deface, defile, abuse contemptuously, relocate, remove, conceal, or obscure any privately owned monument, plaque, marker, or memorial which is dedicated to, honors, or recounts the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof. Any person or entity who suffers injury or damages as a result of a violation of this paragraph may bring an action individually or in a representative capacity against the person or persons committing such violations to seek injunctive relief and to recover general and exemplary damages sustained as a result of such persońs or personś unlawful actions.

[Advisor]

While I have a visceral reaction to this, the fact remains that she and her husband agreed to abide by the community rules when they bought the house. This should be no surprise. They signed the rules voluntarily..there was no coercion. Wonder if there would be as much to do if she wanted to put a sign up opposing the war? Just asking.

[39mto39g]

are made to keep the houses and land just as they are. This keeps property values the same and no one person have a say over anyone else.
Without homeowners associations comunities would have a purple house next to a pink one next to a yellow one with two old cars jacked up in the front yard, People would put up signs for everything. and forget mowing the lawn, how about painting it for an advertisment.
Support the troops but when you live within a homeowners association you can't break the rules or just witch ones do you follow.

[darrels joy]

According to the news reports, the house is being rented by the woman who put up the sign.

The most she could have signed would have been a lease. :re:

[39mto39g]

and in the lease it would say that she would have to follow home owners association rules.
I don't care for HOA but then I don't want to live next to a purple house either. Some people don't have enough brain cells to figure out that stuff ain't right so they have to put it on paper for them and make them sign it. All she would have to do is put the sign in her window. I think making her point is more important to her than displaying the sign.
It will coast the homeowner $100. a day for the next 10 days, they will be put as a lean along with lawyer fees against the salel of the home, After 10 days the sign will be removed by the HOA along with hired police if nessisary.