The wording of the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act offers a careful balance of “rights.” You the homeowner absolutely have the right to fly the American flag on your property. That your HOA permits a real flagpole is rare—too many HOAs will not. On the other side is the HOA, which says, “no lights on the pole.” Many neighborhoods are trying to reduce light pollution so people can sleep better without unnecessary lights shining in the windows, and so they can sit in their yards and see the stars.

I personally don’t think the lights on a flagpole would be so bright as to cause this problem, but the HOA has a hole card in the same Act: (2) any reasonable restriction pertaining to the time, place, or manner of displaying the flag of the United States necessary to protect a substantial interest of the condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association. The HOA believes “no lights”on the flag pole is a reasonable restriction. You must also consider that a flag snapping in the breeze during the day is not a problem, but at night the sound could travel a long way.

Your choice is put up the flag each morning, and take it down at night. Or you might consider a smaller pole, such as a diagonally mounted pole on your porch. Unless the HOA forbids you to burn your porch light all night long, you can display the flag 24 hours a day, and illuminate it too.

If you light your tall flagpole, and end up in arbitration, I believe the HOA would win. I know this is not what you hoped to hear, but you do have some options. Please let me know how this works out for you.

Best Wishes, Deborah

Very Respectfully,
Dan

I cannot speak for other countries.

Deborah has found all the Military Flag Codes online for the different branches, but we haven’t had time to dissect them to see what they address, other than the obvious. The Navy (as one would guess) is the longest and most complicated, what with port calls in foreign countries.

Invariably, the questioner has some military background and judges the Scout uniform is “wrong” because the military uniform has the flag on the right shoulder with the canton on the viewer’s right, so it appears to be trailing in the breeze as the wearer walks forward. The BSA way, they say, shows the flag in retreat.

In my view, there are a couple of things wrong with this idea: first, the BSA is not the Army, so there’s no reason to believe Army uniforming rules should apply to BSA. Second, the Army’s own regulations provide that a battle patch may be worn ABOVE the flag patch on the right shoulder. If the Army wants to treat the patch as a flag, I wonder how they came up with THAT one?!

While the U.S. Flag Code is law, just like the IRS Code, it lacks any enforcement branch within the government. Some states and cities have tried to pass laws for enforcement, but most have been legally challenged and found unconstitutional.

As far as your specific problem, has anyone talked to the man for his side? Is he opposed to adhering to the U.S. Flag Code as a sign of protest? Does he not have the resources or knowledge to light his flag? Is there a money issue? Maybe he just needs some help. Each of these would require a different approach to solve, but might shed some light on the issue.

Ultimately, the HOA has no legal grounds to force compliance with the U.S. Flag Code. It is completely voluntary since 1942, when Congress passed the current law, removing the power from the states to address this matter.

It seems strange that we have laws (or codes) regarding the care of our flag and yet we cannot enforce them!

Do you or any of your employees have any suggestions as to how we can handle this situation?