The good news is Howard Capito can fly an American flag from the front of his Draper townhouse. The bad news is that it took a fight with his homeowners association do it.

The flag flap began in March, when the Air Force veteran mounted a flag holder on the side of his townhouse and began flying a 3-by-5-foot American flag.

But Community Management, the company that manages Capito's development, said the flag's mount -- and by extension the flag itself -- violated the association's rules. His offense was in failing to ask the association for permission to display the flag. He was warned that if he did not take it down, the association would place a lien on his home.

Fortunately, after Capito cited a federal law on flag display, common sense returned to someone in the association who told Capito he could continue to fly the flag -- as long as he accepted liability for any damage the flag caused.

Is silly the right word herefi

If a department-store flag can cause serious damage to a townhouse, we think the association has a bigger problem with the builder than with flag flyers. Besides, Capito shouldn't have to make a liability waiver just to display a flag.

It would be one thing if Capito were putting out signs advertising a home-based business or something else that might cause trouble for his neighbors. But he is a veteran who simply wanted to fly the flag of his country.

The Freedom to Fly the American Flag Act of 2005 prohibits homeowner associations from barring the display of a flag. The bill was passed after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's father-in-law ran afoul of his own condo association's rules on flag flying.

It was this law that caused Capito's association to back down. But even if that law had not been passed, there is another statute that guarantees his right to fly Old Glory: The First Amendment. This is about the right to express one's self with regard to feelings of patriotism. The act of flying the flag is protected expression under the Constitution. So is a protester's right to burn or mutilate the flag.

The flag stands for the right of Americans to use it to show what they think of the country, and nobody should be allowed to interfere with that.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.