Soldiers' Mom Says She Was Told To Move American Flag From Outside Home

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — The mother of two soldiers said she was told by the homeowners association to remove an American flag she placed outside her home.

"I came home yesterday to find a letter from the homeowners association asking me to take [the flag] down or I would be fined," said Leslie Bernstein, who lives in a townhouse near Eileen and Tapo streets in Simi Valley. "I was deeply offended because this is what my sons are fighting for."

Bernstein's son Kevin is serving in Afghanistan, while her son Adam was awarded a Purple Heart. Adam now works for his mother at her academy for children with autism.

"I find it rather offensive. I find it as an infringement upon civil liberties. And I don't think it's appropriate. I really don't," Adam said.

Bernstein said none of her neighbors complained to her.

"I've seen it. I've walked past here every day. I think it's kind of ridiculous. It's just an American flag sitting in front of the house," a woman said.

KCAL9's Greg Mills reports that the homeowners association's issue was that Bernstein placed her flag in a rose bush outside her front door.

"This walkway is mine, but the dirt immediately [to the right] is common area," Bernstein said.

Bernstein solved the issue by placing the flag in a potted plant, which she then put on her walkway.

"I'm gonna continue to fly the flag, and I will fly it until my last breath," she said.