A news item about a former police officer flying an American flag with a blue stripe  (for “Blue Lives Matter”) being asked to take it down by his HOA,  is making the rounds of various sites.  The original news article and the other sites are basically condemning the HOA for it’s request.  The articles usually imply that the HOA is asking the man to take down the American flag.  But associations are required by law to allow the American flag to fly, with some conditions (size, location, etc.)  The problem with this flag is that it violates the U.S. Flag Code.

To quote the specific section: ” The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.” The blue line (or black line) violates this section.

So before you jump all over the association, make sure you know the background.  Rarely is it reported in the news article, as most reporters don’t have a clue as to how associations operate.

Whenever I worked with an association that was amending their documents, I would suggest that they include in the one governing flags or displays, to require anyone flying the U.S. flag to abide by the code.  It just makes sense, and takes some of the burden off the board when a violation occurs.