I'd be leaving the sign up, and saying "see me in court, mo-fo's". Then we get a retired Marine, who became a lawyer either after retirement, or after several tours as a tactical Marine to argue her case. Or maybe Congressman Billy Bob. Homeowners associations than can control what you do with your property are quasi governmental organizations, and in many cases must have a government charter. As such, they should be subject to the first amendment.
Excellent plan re the Marine lawyer :-) But aside from First Amendment grounds, I'm wondering if there are other options as well. I'm perplexed by the statement in the article indicating that there was a VOTE on the matter by the Homeowner's Association, which suggests to me that there was indeed an option in this matter. Why have a vote if there was no choice? If it's a matter of the vote being taken to determine whether or not there was a violation of the Association's charter or rules, then wouldn't there be an option of amending the charter or rules of the Association ? Couldn't the Association vote to amend their community's rules, if they felt strongly about it? Last time I checked, it was still legal to display signs in the City of Tampa, given proper permits, and so it seems that this is just a matter of the Association not wanting to amend their own rules.
