"Home is the starting place of love, hope and dreams" it is also a place to be safe and express our own personalities. And "home is where our story begins" or perhaps, where it continues today.

Larry Murphree joins us :On The Commons". Larry, an Air Force veteran, who, like all the other veterans, laid his life on the line to protect the country and the flag that he so loves . Not a terribly difficult concept to understand, is it? In fact it is a lot easier to comprehend than the complex and convoluted concept of a private home being forced into a residential association that is subject to the whims, thuggery and control of the others.

And Larry's home is where Larry's story begins. To show his love for his country and for his fellow troops that he shares so much with, 7 years ago Larry put a small flag in his flowerpot on his porch. As you may know, flags and pink flamingos anywhere in an HOA controlled property is somewhat akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull. The reaction from the association is as swift, brutal and often as violent as that of a massive charging bull - except unlike a dumb bull, HOAs know exactly what they are doing, and Larry's HOA was no exception. First came the violation letter, "There is an unapproved object in your flowerpot" followed by the threats then the fines and the misdirected assessments, the name calling, the public shaming, and of course the never-ending nitpicking, harassment and abuse, liens and foreclosure. All this has been going on for over 7 years and instead of finally stopping, it continues. Larry's next court date is next week.

Isn't it time America woke up and realized that HOAs are doing more harm than good? It is time to pull the plug on HOAs. Time to go back to private property being truly private and home being the place where families and loved ones are allowed to be themselves, where love, hope and dreams live.

7 years later: Veteran still fighting with HOA

over American flag