Gay couple: "We're being harassed"

Spring Hill, Florida ? There aren't many openly same-sex couples in Spring Hill.

But Perry Hogg and Jesse Worf, a gay couple who have been together for more than two decades, say they've never had a problem.

That is, until they moved to their current home on Masada Lane.

For the last two years, they say they've been embroiled in a red-hot feud with the neighbors who live behind them.

Hogg says it began on Christmas Eve of 2006, when their neighbor confronted him to say he was disturbed because he'd seen the two men naked in their bedroom.

"He said, 'We don't approve of your lifestyle. We don't agree with it. And put drapes up on your house,'" Hogg recalled.

Tampa Bay's 10 contacted the neighbor, who said that he was, indeed, very disturbed to see the couple in their bedroom. He denies telling the couple that he disagreed with their lifestyle.

Hogg says another disagreement had to do with the sprinklers. He recalls hearing the sprinklers on in the backyard. He says he peeked outside to make sure they weren't his, since someone in the neighborhood had been calling on anyone who used sprinklers outside of approved hours.

Again, Hogg said the neighbor lashed out.

"He said, 'That's right I'm watering my [expletive] yard, and there's not a [expletive] thing you can do about it, you faggot,'" Hogg recalled. "I was so stunned."

The neighbor denies ever using those words.

Since then, Hogg and Worf believe their neighbors have been targeting them by filing multiple complaints with code enforcement and the homeowners association.

Since moving in, the couple has spent more than $100,000 in renovations and decorating.

Brand-new hardwood floors were put in, a new roof was put on and a new backyard lanai was erected. The couple even flew in an interior decorator to pick out their pricey antique furniture.

The 4,000 square foot home is dripping in ornate décor.

Though the couple admits to having some minor code enforcement violations outside (such as a hedge that's 12 inches taller than the HOA allows), they believe their neighbors are using the system to harass them.

"The problem is there are still vestiges of discrimination of people based on their sexual orientation," said Becky Steele of the Tampa Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "And it's hard for those to die out. You can't really change how people think about each other, but hopefully you can change how people act towards each other."

Steele said the case could be tough to prove in a court of law, but she suggested Hogg and Worf contact a lawyer if the situation worsens.

"Everyone is entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their property," Steele explained. "If a neighbor interferes to the point that they're becoming what the law considers a 'nuisance,' then they can go to court."

For now, Hogg and Worf are not going to court. Instead, they're going to their realtor's office. Their house is up for sale, and they're hoping to get out of the neighborhood.