UNDATED: Marine Captain Jim Lowe has been told to take down either his American or Marine Corps flags that are displayed outside his home in an adult residential community in Griffin, Georgia. (MyFoxAtlanta.com)
A retired Georgia combat veteran has lost his fight to fly his American flag and U.S. Marine Corps colors outside his home in an Atlanta-area retirement community.
MyFoxAtlanta.com reports that the board of directors at Marine Capt. Jim Lowe's community in Griffin voted against changing a rule on outside decorations that threatened his patriotic display.
Sun City-Peachtree's codes state that each home in the retirement community can only have one flag, but Lowe fought the rule, arguing that the traditional Marine Corps battle color is not a flag.
Lowe told the station in July that he received a code violation notice from management informing him that he and his wife would face fines of up to $25 a day and a possible lien on his home if he did not remove one of the flags.
"When a bunch of arbitrary rules trump the Constitution, it's a sad date because indeed a piece of America is lost," Lowe told MyFoxAtlanta.com after the board made its decision.
The board released a statement to MyFoxAtlanta.com saying in part, "A recent poll of residents asking their opinion about a possible change in the number of flags permitted indicated no overwhelming preference for a change in the governing documents."
Lowe told the station that the board's decision is a game-changer and that he and his wife have no choice but to pack up and move out of the community.
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