Banner Box

A father from Wisconsin is in a battle with a homeowner’s association to be allowed to keep Buddhist prayer flags flying outside his house while his son is away completing the basic training for the US army.

Don Chering told his local newspaper, Hudson Star-Observer, that he feels that he is doing no wrong and is supporting US troops by flying the flags. However, Mr. Chering from Hudson, Wisconsin, has been told that he has until the end of January to take the flags down from his home at the Lighthouse Villas development.

“I said, you know that is a violation of certain constitutional rights,” said Don, who is a practising Buddhist. “There are limits to what is acceptable and what’s not acceptable. I don’t think flying a flag to represent your country or your belief system is something the homeowners association should dictate to us.”

Don, and his wife Sandee, have been told by the homeowner’s association that the homes on their development are not permitted to have things attached to the outside of the buildings. Don and his wife hope that the association will have a change of heart and allow them to fly the flags for their son, Aaron, who left home to start his basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on 9th November 2011.

“We’re a community, and they want to homogenise everybody,” he said. “[We] shouldn’t be stopping other people from practising their beliefs respectfully – in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody.”