On Wednesday, WRAL reported that a lesbian interracial couple in Raleigh, North Carolina is claiming their homeowner's association is singling them out for discriminatory attacks.
"A couple who lives in a Raleigh townhouse said they were told by their neighborhood's homeowner's association to take down a Black Lives Matter sign from inside their window. They believe they are being targeted because they are an interracial, same-sex couple," reported Bryan Mims. "Lindsey Sais said the popular sign, which says, 'In this house, we believe women's rights are human rights, no human is illegal, love is love, kindness is everything,' has been in their window since May of last year, since they moved into Alexander Place. 'We placed it inside the window, not outside. We were trying to follow the rules, and we know where we live and [we're not] trying to get away with anything,' Sais said."
The HOA letter sent to them alleges that the sign violates an article that states "No owner shall display, hang, store or exhibit any signs outside of the dwelling so as to be visible from outside of the Lot."
"This is the couple's third notice of a supposed violation — the others involving a fire pit and a portable collapsible fence. Sais claims other homes have similar violations but haven't been punished," said the report. "'We're being targeted, especially when others are allowed to break the rules,' she said."
The CEO of the HOA's management company, Derek Greene, denies the couple has been targeted in any way. "If this was a security sign or a contractor's sign, they would have received the same violation," he told WRAL. "It has nothing to do with the content of the sign or the people [at] that residence."
Homeowner's associations around the country, which collect fees from residents in return for enforcing neighborhood rules and providing amenities, have often become flashpoints of controversy. In 2016, an HOA in El Dorado Hills, California was revealed to still have a "whites only" policy on the books.
