PEACE ON EARTH, GOODWILL TO MEN...
By Christopher Blackwell

The peace symbol was introduced by Lord Bertrand Russell on Easter of 1958 during his march for nuclear disarmament. Created by a British commercial artist, it combines the semaphore symbols for the letters N and D within a circle. It has created controversy ever since.

Give Peace a Chance

Bill Trimarco and Lisa Jensen feeling the Christian call for peace on earth particularly during the the holiday season, put up a Christmas wreath in the shape of the peace symbol. Jensen installed it on Nov. 19.

On Nov. 26, Durango Herald reported Jensen said, "I just wanted to put a message of peace out there." She said she put up the wreath to honor the Biblical call for peace and goodwill towards men, and had not intended it to be anything else by hanging it on her Loma Linda Subdivision residence outside of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

The Battle Begins

Then came the letter from the Loma Linda Homeowners Association. The letter informed her that “Loma Linda residents are offended by the Peace Sign displayed in front of your house.” Citing a use restriction banning “signs, billboards or advertising structures of any kind” in the subdivision without prior approval, the notice said the wreath had to come down by Friday or Jensen and her husband, Bill, would face a $25-a-day fine.

By Saturday they had not heard from the board and had not taken down the wreath. She heard another neighbor, who had upset people by putting skis marked with peace signs as markers on his driveway, had been in informed that some people were offended by the display “while our country is at of war.”

It’s the Antichrist Sign

The Durango Herald also interviewed the president of the homeowners association, Bob Kearns. While declining to describe the complaints about the wreath, he did express his own opinions.

"The peace sign has a lot of negativity associated with it," Kearns said. "It's also an Antichrist sign. That's how it started."

He said those he contacted for legal advice laughed at the idea of allowing the display of a peace symbol.

Rebellion Within

On Wednesday every member of the subdivision’s five-member Architectural Control Committee was asked to resign for opposing the decision by the Board of Directors to fine Jensen and Trimarco.

The committee published a public letter on Pagosa.com. Jack Lilly wrote, "The Architectural Committee was asked to intervene. The five members met and decided that no message, other than a wish for peace, could be inferred in the symbols and saw no violation of the CC&Rs (covenants, codes and restrictions). The Board of Directors has the authority to override the ACC and did so. But that wasn't enough. They demanded that anyone that disagreed with them should be removed from the committee. We all resigned."

While changes to the Colorado law made in 2005 prohibit homeowners associations from banning displays of flags of service, American flags or political signs during an elections, it does not affect other type of displays.

The sign restrictions quoted to Jensen had been in force while she was president of the home owners association. She may consider legal action through the ACLU.

Symbol of Satan

On the same day The Denver Channel reported that Kearns said, "We have had three or four complaints. Some people have kids in Iraq and they are sensitive." He added that some see it as a symbol of Satan.

It also reported that Jeff Heitz of the association board sent a letter to Jensen saying, "Loma Linda residents are offended by the peace sign displayed on the front of your house. ... This Board will not allow any signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive...."

But We Disagree

Jack Lilly, former ARC member, said Kearns fired them for not requiring Jensen to remove the wreath. Lilly said the committee had decided that it was just a seasonal symbol and that they had not received a single complaint from homeowners against it.

In a telephone interview Kearns said that someone could put up a sign saying ‘Drop bombs on Iraq.’ If you let one sign up then you have to let them all go up.

Peace Resistance

The Denver Channel reported Jensen said, "I honestly wasn't thinking of the Iraq war. Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing. I am not going to take it down until after Christmas. Now that it has come to this, I feel I can't get bullied. What if they don't like my Santa Claus?"

Kearns said the association will fine Jensen $25 a day. She calculates that could add up to $1000 but doubts they will be able to make her pay.

It’s a Pagan symbol

Kearns told the Durango Herald he was also concerned by the Pagan symbolism of the peace sign. The newspaper, citing the 1972 edition of “Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols", said that the author expressed some doubt about the peace symbol. Some say it is a semaphore symbols for N and D and a symbol of total nuclear disarmament, but some say it represents an upside down, broken cross and is anti-Christian or Satanic.

It Will Remain

Jensen said she intends to leave the wreath - along with all her other Christmas decorations -- up to Dec. 25. She said she has already gotten a lot of support.

The Denver Channel reported Jensen said, "One of the guys who called us was in tears almost, choked up. He said, 'I went to war and I fought for peace and they don't have the right to take that away from you.’”

On Nov. 20, the Denver Post reported that Jensen was getting 20 phone calls an hour about the wreath, both from the media and from people offering support or donations to help her pay the daily fine.

Message Spreads

The story grew from being a local news story, to a wire service story, followed by national coverage, then blogs and messageboards. By Monday it had become the second most popular story on CNN.com.

The Denver Post reported that Kearns on Monday said he had also received numerous phone calls. He said he was consulting an attorney and didn’t want to comment on the controversy because the media had twisted his quotes .

Kerns said, "This thing has mushroomed. It's really gotten out of control."

Monday morning Pagosa Springs town hall officials received an e-mail that asked, "What kind of little Nazis does your town grow?"

Mark Garcia, the town manager, changed the town’s website to clarify that the town has no authority over the homeowners association and that the subdivision is not even within the town limits.

The Denver Post reported the website message ended saying, "The town wholly supports their peace-sign display and also wishes for peace on earth."

Garcia said all the messages the town had received were in support of the peace sign and were from people out of state. He said, "Some of the people I spoke to in the community weren't even aware of the issue."

Debate Continues

Lilly said that people who called him wanted to debate about whether the wreath was anti-war or pro-war. A religious symbol or a Satanic symbol. He is disheartened by all the commotion. He said it all could have been avoided if one neighbor had talked to another about the meaning of the symbol.

Jensen just wants the homeowners association to make it go away. According to the Denver Post. she said, "I hope that this will just get dropped and they'll retract their letter and realize it was silly."

Board Surrenders

Nov. 28, Rocky Mountain News reported that Jensen received a letter from the board withdrawing its objections and threat of daily fines.

Jensen told the Associated Press, "We want to let you know that this evening we just received a letter from the Loma Linda Homeowners Board of Directors stating: 'We had a misunderstanding with your Christmas decoration and for that we apologize. We withdraw any and all previous requests for removal of your decoration.'"

None of the the three board members were available for comment late Monday. Kearns and Jeff Heitz had their phones changed to unlisted numbers Monday.

On the same day the Durango Herald, via the Associated Press reported that the three-man board had resigned, according to an email sent to homeowners. Two of them disconnected their phones, apparently to escape waves of calls asking them what they could be thinking. The only one with a still-working phone didn’t return calls to comment.

A former president of the homeowners association, Farrell C. Trask stepped in to help create an interim board. A military veteran, he said in a phone interview he supports anyone’s right to free speech.

Peace spreads

According to the Rocky Mountain News, Jensen said, "We would like to thank everyone who has contacted us with moral support and offers of financial support. We are grateful to hundreds of complete strangers who felt so moved by this story they contacted us. We received calls from people who called themselves grandmas, mothers, military families, veterans, devout Christians, agnostics, atheists, a rabbi, veterans of various wars, people with children in Iraq.

There are now more peace symbols in Pagosa Springs than probably at any time in its history. Twenty people marched through town center carrying peace signs and stomped a peace sign in the snow 300 feet wide. Mr. Timarco said “There’s quite a few now in our subdivision in a show of support.”

A newly-lit peace symbol wreath now graces the tower of the town hall of Pagosa Springs. Town administrator Mark Garcia said the town was being tainted for being the nearest town to the subdivision, so he commissioned a local artist to make a large peace sign wreath to show "we support peace.