“Should the Arizona Legislature expand the Community Association Flag Display Statute to include the Gadsden Flag, the Association will accommodate Mr. Delgado, a lawyer for the homeowners’ association, put it in a statement on the association’s Web site: 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 baring its fangs.Īs Javier B. McDonel, does not give residents authorization to fly anything else on their properties. The Arizona law, says the homeowners’ association butting heads with Mr. 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 homeowners’ association for flying the Marine Corps flag. 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. It shows this nation was born out of an idea.” “It’s a patriotic gesture,” he said of his banner. McDonel, 32, a logistics operation manager, has vowed to fight the order. It threatened fines if the debris (i.e., the flag) did not go within 10 days. This month, he received a letter from the homeowners’ association ordering him to remove “the debris” from his roof.
“Am I a Metallica fan because I’m using the flag?” he asked. 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. McDonel said that he had unfurled the flag for its historical significance and nothing else. 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. McDonel began flying a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag on his roof in this unincorporated area just outside Phoenix.