CANTON, Ohio -- A military mother who had been ordered by her condominium board to remove a flag honoring her son's wartime service has been told the symbol can stay in her window.
The dispute with Marlene Gano and her 76-year-old husband, Richard, brought the condominium management company dozens of calls and e-mails since the weekend, including some death threats, REM Commercial Association Management President Gary Duvall said.
"The manager, she didn't realize what the emblem meant," Duvall said.
The flag with a blue star on a white background is a symbol for families with members serving in wartime. Marlene Gano of Perry Township near Canton vowed her flag would remain in place until the Iraq war was over and her son, 55-year-old Army Master Sgt. Richard Gano Jr., was home.
Duvall said the comments have included accusations of communism and one even one asking if the company was run by al-Qaida.
An attorney for the woman's condo board, which had said Gano's display violated condo rules, found the woman's flag could be considered an American flag, which courts have ruled are exempt from condo rules, Duvall said.
The window display rule is meant to protect property values by maintaining uniformity, Duvall said. He added it was highly unlikely the Ganos never received a copy of the association's rules, as they have said.
Despite the reversal, the Ganos said Monday that they plan to move.
"They may say they're going to back down," said Richard Gano, an Army veteran. "But sometime in the future, it may come back up again."
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