Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I UNFORTUNATELY LIVE IN A subdivision with a misnamed Home Owners Association (HOA) that is above the law. It is, by its obvious action, above federal law and the FIRST Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is, according to the current representative of the HOA’s management group, not answerable to the laws of the municipality in which the subdivision is located. On that flag pole he put the Stars and Stripes. Under the U.S. flag he put an Israeli Star of David flag (right). Proper flag etiquette; the home country’s flag always is on top or to the right or all other flags, banners, or pennants.1, 2, 3, 4 Flags flown at night are supposed to be illuminated by artificial lights. The Israeli flag was intended to be a temporary thing, but due to the heavy-handiness of the HOA management group's local representative, both flags remained on the pole until the threat of a lien against the property forced the property owners to back down. Freedom of speech? Not in my subdivision. Oh yes, the management association for the HOA has a battery of expensive lawyers ready to send threatening “violation” letters and to rush to place liens on properties whose owners don’t comply “post haste.” Try as I might, I know of no one who complained about the Israeli flag; not the non-Israeli neighbors next door and across the street. The purpose of a home owners’ association — at least as this scrivener understands it — is to assure that the neighborhood and the structures in it are well maintained; that eyesores are addressed, common areas maintained, etc. Since most HOA’s are theoretically controlled by home owners of the community, it would seem appropriate that if a property needs attention, someone from the HOA would civilly contact the relevant homeowner and politely suggest that the issue be resolved. If the issue still remains after an agreed upon time, then get the lawyers involved. Here, the lawyers send threatening letters at every opportunity. Since they apparently are paid several hundred dollars for each form letter they mail out, if a property has two issues, two separate letters are sent. Five issues: five letters. Mind you these are FORM LETTERS; the only thing that changes is the resident’s name and the alleged “violation’s” type. Interestingly, the letters are dated several days BEFORE the date the Post Office canceled the postage. According to Federal law, only a letter carrier can put anything into a resident’s mail box (right), and that “anything” must be postage paid. The Government Accountability Office reports that fines may be as high as $5,000 per occurrence for individuals and $10,000 per occurrence for organizations.
This law is commonly known as the "mailbox restriction." The restriction also includes anything placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle.5 A lawyer tells me that while this is generally true, the HOA can put anything it wishes into a resident’s mailbox — NEVER MIND FEDERAL LAW. Truth in blogging: the lawyer does business for the management group employed by the HOA, but there is no conflict of interest, I am assured. Apparently it is true: HOAs in my state seem unencumbered by ANY law; they are, I was told, similar to an independent state. Based on its flaunting of federal laws, I would suggest that it holds itself as a separate nation.
”Hey, neighbor, it looks like it’s time to fix the fence. Do you need time to get it repaired?” To which the neighbor might respond: “I know; I’m looking for someone to fix it but it can’t be done for about 15 (or 30) days.”
The U.S. Code for crimes and criminal procedure prohibits the placement of unstamped fliers in any mailbox. Title 18, section 1725 states that any person who knowingly deposits "mail-able matter" without postage in an established letter box shall be subject to a fine.
Sources 1. http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html 2. https://tinyurl.com/y6tuqx68 3. https://www.vfw.org/community/flag-etiquette 4. https://www.legion.org/flag/code 5. https://tinyurl.com/y7wf26h4
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