"Welcome home from Iraq, SPC Boitet!" Umm...nope, not here!

[82Rigger]

ORANGE PARK, FL -- It was supposed to be a very special homecoming. After being in Iraq 15 months, SPC Lauren Boitet was going to see her family.

"I'm just glad to be home," says SPC Lauren Boitet.

The family was rolling out the red carpet, so to speak, but the homecoming was dampened by the homeowner association rules.

"They removed the welcome home signs and balloons and flags," says Natalie Boitet.

Boitet says when they tried to recover the signs it turned into a confrontation with the association manager.

The Boitet family says the signs could have stayed up for a couple of hours. They say in the past the association had ignored other signs.

"There have been signs for birthdays and parties and they've never taken them down," says Dyan Boitet.

Boitet says there has to be exceptions to the rules.

Alan Williams is President of the Pace Island Homeowners Association. He said the problem is the signs and where they were located. Williams says flags are exempt from HOA rules.

Williams says the signs were in common areas and a resident complained that they could be viewed as political and supporting the war. Williams says that's why the signs were removed.

[DMZ-LT]

Steve , tell Williams to come over to my house and remove my signs and see what happens !

[Packo]

What is up with those damn HOA's? I read this kind of crap all the time. Now, let me get this straight.....they are welcoming home their daughter after 15 months in Iraq, and THAT'S A POLITICAL MESSAGE??? If Williams survives John's house, then send him and the other people in that asshole place to mine. I assure you that the families problems are over. These people will all be Crab Bait off of Parris Island. How fitting.

Pack

[SuperScout]

Some HOA's have resident sign-Nazi's, and they are the scourge of the earth. These A-holes need to be challenged with a law suit, based on our 1st amendment rights vs. the HOA rules. My guess is that the plaintiffs will win.

[SuperScout]

Just because one signs a HOA agreement and covenants, one doesn't ipso facto surrender one's constitutional rights. For example, if a HOA amended the covenants and bylaws that forbade public speech, the issue would be mute by virtue of an overriding given right. In the extent case, it appears as if the 'freedom of speech' part of the 1st Amendment has indeed be squelched, and only by court action could it be overturned, forcing the HOA to amend its bylaws and/or covenants.

[melody1181]

one of the reasons i will never live in one of those hell hold type of places. People trying to tell me what to do....bullcrap.

Hope she had a great welcome home despite these a-holes!