LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Freedom of Speech

I recently moved into a 55 and over community, Heritage Point in Barnegat. I‘m an activist for the Democratic Party and want to do everything I can to get our president re-elected — and that includes displaying campaign signs on my property.

I made a request to the management company at Heritage Point to be able to place these signs on my property in support of President Obama. They went to the Board of Trustees who ruled that this would not be allowed and they vetoed my request. I believe this is a violation of my freedom of speech. I do not think the Board of Trustees can take away my civil rights just because it is a "rule" of the development.

As a matter of fact, there was a recent NJ Supreme Court case ruling related to a Parsippany homeowner who sued his homeowners association for prohibiting him from putting political signs on his property. The NJ Supreme Court concluded ".......that the sign policy in question violates the free-speech clause of the State Constitution." The court further noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has called residential signs ".....a venerable means of communication that is both unique and important..." and that has "......played an important part in political campaigns." My right to freedom speech will not be denied by my homeowners association and I will be posting political signs on my property. I urge all of you who live in these kinds of communities to also exercise your right to freedom of speech.

Anita Carbonara,

Barnegat

We love mail from our readers! If you have a concern or an opinion that you want to share, email Katia Raina, Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch editor at katia.raina@patch.com.