Defining the family
The town apparently has one of those laws that prohibits more than three unrelated people from living together. Usually such ordinances are designed to stop houses of college students from disrupting a town's neighborhoods with loud partying, etc. However, the intent in Black Jack seems to be different.
The zoning board proposed an amendment to the law, which was voted down by the city council. The defeated measure would have changed the definition of a family to include unmarried couples with two or more children.
Mayor Norman McCourt declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that those who do not meet the town's definition of family could soon face eviction.
So apparently, in Black Jack, MO you either need to be married, or you're out of luck. That sounds to me like social engineering.
Do we really want to live in a place where family specifications are stipulated by law? Is that where our fears have driven us? For me, a law like this does not sound like freedom at all. It sets a dangerous precedent where people wall themselves in communities and insulate themselves from the outside world. Although I sometimes understand the desire to do that, I don't think its healthy for any of us to shut one another out.
The link: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060518/D8HLSQ600.html
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