Limits on Acceptable Christmas Wreaths - UPDATED

Today we have this charming story out of Colorado.

In a town in scenic southwestern Colorado homeowners are battling over whether a Christmas wreath that includes a peace sign is an anti-Iraq war protest or even a promotion of Satan.

"We have had three or four complaints. Some people have kids in Iraq and they are sensitive," said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He also said some believe it is a symbol of Satan.

Jeff Heitz, of the association board, sent a letter to Lisa Jensen saying: "Loma Linda residents are offended by the peace sign displayed on the front of your house. ... This Board will not allow any signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive...."

The subdivision's convenants say no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.

When Kearns ordered the association's architectural control committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath removed, they refused. Jack Lilly, chairman of the group, said it decided it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Lilly also said he had received no complaints from homeowners. Kearns fired all five members of the committee.

"Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up," said Kearns in a telephone interview Sunday. Earlier another homeowner had complied when required to take down a peace sign that was made of a pie plate held up by two skis.

Jensen, a past president of the association in the subdivision of 200 homes 270 miles southwest of Denver, said: "I honestly wasn't thinking of the Iraq war. Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing. I am not going to take it down until after Christmas. Now that it has come to this I feel I can't get bullied. What if they don't like my Santa Claus."

Kearns said the association will fine Jensen $25 a day for every day it remains up. She calculates that will cost her about $1,000, although she doubts they will be able to make her pay.

Kearns, meanwhile, also said he was concerned about the pagan symbolism of the peace sign. "It's also an anti-Christ sign. That's how it started," he told the Durango Herald.

Let's start with the last part. First, the pagan symbolism thing, is a load of you-know-what. Some will try to tell you otherwise, but unless you are willing to concede Richard Nixon and Winston Churchill as Satanists, I think you better let it rest.

Second, I suppose in the wild and wacky world of Home Owners Associations and the courts, someone might rule that an offensive pagan religious display may be banned. However, at this point, out of consistency, Mr. Kearns will be telling everyone to take down their lights and Santas. If you ban one religious display, you've got to ban them all.

"Oh, it's only those pagans we're trying to stop." Really? Where do you draw the line at pagan (i.e. non-Christian)? Does that allow you to prevent someone from displaying a menorah on their lawn? What about if the local Morman family (and there are plenty in Colorado) wants to put up a lighted Rudolph? There are certainly some who don't consider the LDS church as Christian. To them, it's a crazy cult.

Third, crazy as our culture is, I suppose they can ban it based on the concept that it is "political". However, the First Amendment says

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.

So, if the wreath is carrying a religious message or a political one (petition for redress), the first amendment explicitly protects it. Thus, the proper stance for Ms. Jensen is to tell Mr. Kearns to F- Off! Signs, billboards, and advertising are supposedly banned without approval of the HOA, and those aren't political speech, and so enjoy lesser Constitutional protection. Fine. But by Mr. Kearns own statement, he believes the matter is political, so he's damned himself here.

(By the way, does this mean everyone would be OK with this if she hung the wreath in her car window? Then, it's not attached to the 'architecture'. How about, if she gets one of those old-fashioned 'colored light-wheel' things you would use with an aluminum Christmas tree, and just projects a peace symbol on her own house?)

Fourth, did you notice in the article that the whole matter went through the proper channels and when Mr. Kearns didn't get the response he wanted from the architectural review board he fired them en masse? Wow! Quite a democratic process they've got going there when the president of the HOA can just fire anyone that doesn't agree with him.

UPDATE - Well the HOA has backed down and apologized for the misunderstanding. The two silly HOA doofuses (doofi?) that ordered the wreath's removal have now changed to unlisted phone numbers. The "complainer" has been publicly identified, and no doubt will be changing his phone number soon, too.

And that five-member architectural review board that heard, but rejected, the original complaint? The board turns out to include two Vietnam and one Korean War vet. Apparently someone understands what freedon is about.