If Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch truly wants to show his love for the American flag, he should support what the House of Representatives did in June.

A day after the Senate rejected Hatch's effort to amend the Constitution to prohibit flag desecration, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would guarantee every American's right to proudly display the flag.

This is the right way to go, and Utah's delegation should get on board.

House resolution 42, the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, would prohibit homeowners associations or condominium boards from infringing on a resident's right to display a flag on his or her property.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., sponsored the legislation in 2005 after several people ran afoul of their homeowners associations for flying the flag. One man was dinged for putting a 25-foot flag pole on his property, which the mullahs in charge of his subdivision thought was too high.

Bartlett's legislation deserves support, especially from Hatch and the ultra-right-wing Citizens Flag Alliance, which supported his ill-advised amendment. They normally waste enormous energy on the non-issue of flag desecration. They ought to get behind this bill to solve a real problem.

Many homeowners associations forbid the display of flags in the name of promoting a uniform community appearance and preserving property values. Among those running afoul of such rules is Donald Lamp, the father-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has defied his retirement community's management and displayed an American flag from his balcony.

Unlike Hatch, whose low politics provide no shield even for something as precious as the Bill of Rights, Bartlett's measure strengthens the First Amendment. His law would remind homeowners associations that while picturesque property is good, members' right to express their feelings about their country using American flags is even more important.

This bill gives Hatch and the CFA a chance to show reverence for the flag without destroying free speech in the process. And the CFA would not even have to rig a poll to find that most people support the idea, which may help cool Hatch's ardor for amending the Constitution for the non-problem of flag burning.

The First Amendment protects both a protester's right to show his unhappiness with the government using a flag and a patriot's right to fly a flag with pride -- even in homeowners associations.

We'd like to see Hatch and the CFA spend their time supporting a worthy law that will enhance freedom rather than on an amendment that attacks it.