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Old 4 December 2009, 01:18
mdb23 mdb23 is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,490
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greenhat View Post
There is an argument for the lawyer if I ever saw one.

"Your honor, I understand the purpose of the HOA and am sure they serve a wonderful purpose. However, we are talking about restricting the first amendment rights of a man who risked his life for our nation."
We are still confusing issues here. The indivudual entered into a private agreeement with the HOA that allows the HOA to pursue legal action against him if he violates the codes and stupulations that he agreed to.

I have a legal right to burn a flag.....which means that the govt cannot come after me (legally) if I do so. However, if I have signed a contract with a HOA stating that I will not burn anything on my property, and then burn a flag in my front yard, the HOA can still take legal action for violation of the agreement. That's not a first amendment violation.

It's no different than accepting a private sector job where there are codes of conduct that I must stipulate to in order to get hired....I may have freedom of speech, but if I choose to hand out pro life literature to every customer that comes through my KMart checkout lane, my employer can still fire can fire me...... Well, I have a right to burn a flag.....but if I enter into a binding agreement that says I won't burn anything on my property, then I can still get sued by the HOA....

In both cases, the govt isn;t taking any action against me...a private entity is based upon authority that I gave them by entering into a binding agreement...

This may suck, but it isn;t a violation of freedom of speech.

Last edited by mdb23; 4 December 2009 at 01:21.
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