Flags Now Legal at Condominiums

American flags and other patriotic displays are now safe from local ordinances and homeowners association rules.

Gov. James E. McGreevey signed a law Thursday that limits local regulations on flags and displays like yellow ribbons.

Under the new law, local rules could restrict flags and patriotic expressions only if they pose a threat to public safety. The new law also bars regulations that would require people to post a bond or other payment before being allowed to fly an American flag.

Lawmakers passed the measure to prevent what happened in two New Jersey towns where local rules last year threatened patriotic displays.

Ralph McIlvaine of Hamilton, Mercer County, decided to fly a POW flag without first seeking a waiver of his homeowners' association rules, which permit only the American and New Jersey state flags to be displayed. McIlvaine decided to buy a flag after Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was captured in Iraq.

McIlvaine and his wife, Dori, eventually agreed to pay the association's board $1,000 in legal fees and a $50 fine for flying the flag after being told to remove it, but those costs were mostly covered by donations from Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore, the Rolling Thunder motorcycle club and others.

The tiny borough of Fieldsboro attracted nationwide attention last spring when Mayor Edward "Buddy" Tyler banned yellow ribbons on municipal property, including the welcome-to-town sign. He said such displays were not allowed without prior approval of the Borough Council.

Many of the community's 522 residents responded by draping the town in red, white and blue -- and hundreds of yellow ribbons -- in a sign of support for U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.

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