A Florida couple has been fined after an “offended” neighbor reported them for displaying a Pride flag outside their home.
Mike Ferrari and Bob Plominski are a gay couple from Oakland Park who was left feeling “upset” and “shocked” after receiving a violation notice from their homeowner’s association.
According to the letter, the couple was ordered to remove the Pride flag that they have displayed on the mailbox outside of their home to celebrate Pride month.
While Mike and Bob didn’t think the small rainbow flag would cause any problems, one of the neighbors allegedly reported them to The Eastland Cove Homeowners Association and demanded that the flag is removed.
Besides ordering the couple to remove the flag, the HOA also threatened to fine them $50 per day should they fail to meet their demands.
“We’ve done this before and it’s a simple showing of our pride to the community and it’s up for 30 days,” Bob said in an interview with NBC 6.
“I really think the citation is because it’s a gay Pride flag and someone in the neighborhood is offended, simple as that,” Mike added.
While the couple believes they are being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, the HOA in question insists that they are simply following the rules.
As the HOA informed NBC6, only military flags and American flags can be displayed outside the local homes in accordance with their rules.
Nevertheless, Mike and Bob remained determined to keep on flying the flag despite the fact they have already started piling up their fines.
“It’s going to stay up until June 30th. We as a community worked really hard to earn and get to where we are today. We’re not going to back down on this one,” Bob says.
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