With lovely sounding street addresses including English Ivy and Sawgrass Place, Sun City Peachtree promised to be an idyllic retirement home for Jim Lowe and his wife. Even the community's slogan, Live Life to the Fullest, sounded perfect. And for a good while it was just that - a lovely home, plenty of activities, lots of new friends, a party every night.
But when Marine veteran Lowe, he served in the Korean War, decided to fly both an American and Marine Corps flag, one on each side of his garage, the party abruptly ended. Seems the Board of Directors of his homeowners association has a strict one flag rule and Lowe was told one had to be taken down.
Lowe tried to make the case that the Marine Corps colors always flies with the United States flag, so they are not really two separate flags. Lowe said he can't fly one without the other, and that the Marine colors represent respect for his service to our country. What's more, his neighbors backed him, said it was perfectly fine with them if he flew both flags together.
But Sun City Peachtree, located in Griffin, Georgia, within the metropolitan Atlanta area, disagreed. The United States and Marine Corps flags are separate and together comprise two flags they ruled. And the Directors contend, the Lowes knew the rules when they moved in. So they could either take down one flag or face a fine of $25 per day and a possible lien on their pleasant home.
"When a bunch of arbitrary rules trump the Constitution, it's a sad date because indeed a piece of America is lost," Lowe said of the Directors' decision. And Lowe says he won't abide by their decision. He plans on moving.