They're Trying to Fine a Gold Star Family for Flying our Flag. In San Marcos. Days Before the 4th.
- Media
- 18 minutes ago
- 2 min read
I served this country in the Navy. I was the Mayor of San Marcos. So when I tell you what's happening right now in our own backyard is wrong, I mean it.
A homeowners association in San Marcos is threatening to fine two families for flying the American flag outside their homes.
Cover of California Post | Click on image to enlarge | Read the full article here.
Let me say that again.
The American flag. In San Marcos. Four days before our country turns 250 years old.
Amy Cooke has flown that flag for more than 20 years. It honors her husband's grandfather, a sailor killed in World War II while rescuing his shipmates. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart. Posthumously. Because he didn't come home.
Her neighbor Terri Collins has flown her flag for 42 years. Her father flew one before her. The HOA wants hers down too.
Their crime? Honoring the country and the men who died for it.
The HOA passed a blanket ban on flags in 2024 and now wants to charge these families $100 for refusing to take Old Glory down. It started when someone tried to hang a Padres flag, and instead of using common sense, the board decided the answer was to ban every flag in the community. Including the one that flew over the men who never made it back.
Here's the part they're betting you don't know.
The law is crystal clear.
Federal law protects your right to fly the American flag on your own property. So does California law. HOA boards cannot ban it. The lawyers who reviewed this case said the HOA is dead wrong and these families should not back down.
So to Amy, to Terri, and to every family in North County: don't you dare take that flag down.
And to the rest of us, this weekend, let's show these families they're not alone. Fly your flag proud. Put one on the truck. Hang one on the porch. Wave one at the parade. Let North County be a sea of red, white, and blue.
We are about to celebrate 250 years of the greatest country in the history of the world. That is something to be proud of, out loud, for everyone to see.
Happy early Independence Day. God bless America, and God bless every family who flies her colors.
Written by District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond | June 30, 2026 | San Diego Board of Supervisors
