Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in a land called America, the citizens were free. They adopted a set of rules, guaranteeing that the freedoms the founders fought for would last through the ages and be passed on from generation to generation. To ensure that their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s grandchildren would remain free, they wrote the Bill of Rights. These rights included such basic things as the freedom of religion, speech, assembly, to be secure in their homes, be deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of the law, be subject to excessive fines. And the concept worked – for awhile.
And then the government gave the citizens home and condo associations and told them the associations would protect their property values and once the owners were drawn in they started losing the rights their forefathers fought so hard to give them. But a few of the owners have decided to fight back and reclaim their rights as free citizens. But how does one turn back the clock to the days when free people were allowed to be free? Will they be able to get together, celebrate the holidays, decorate their homes and worship and communicate with each other?
On The Commons this week we are joined by Don Schellhardt. Don is the founder and president of www.hfagroup.net . He is an attorney and a HAM as well. Because of the restrictions on antennas by HOAs and condos, many HAM operators are finding that they not only cannot enjoy their hobby but also are not able to provide certain protections to their communities. So Don and his fellow HAMs tried to get the FCC involved but they said “No Thanks” so Don approached CAI and asked if they could come to some understanding, perhaps encouraging some HOAs to allow antennas. The two members of CAI agreed and posted an article on CAI’s web page. The article is very difficult to find and attempts to access it prior to the show failed. I have since found it and hope this link works for you. http://www.caionline.org/govt/news/Political%20HeadsUp%20Public%20Document%20Library/ham_radio.pdf Please join us On The Commons. We’ll learn more about HAMS and what they provide the community. We’ll learn about antennas and also why we should ALL support allowing HAM antennas in HOAs.
