Moldy Peaches

The true definition of the *Nanny State* is starting to emerge in Black Jack, Missouri - just outside St.Louis. The city does not allow all residents to purchase or rent property without submitting the number of occupants in the dwelling and each persons relation to each other. Why is this important? Civic officials can deny individuals shelter if there are more than three people in one dwelling who are not all related. This means that a common law family with children can not live together in their own house.

Black Jack is back in the news. In 1999, an unmarried couple with 3-year-old triplets, Duane Carpenter and Doris McKinney, were denied an occupancy permit in the town. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union is taking up another fight for unmarried couple (Olivia Shelltrack and her partner of 13 years) with children and their quest to find housing.

Black Jack Mayor McCourt summed up his communities feelings in a letter to the ACLU in 1999.

"The easiest resolution to cure the situation would be for them to get married. Our community believes this is the appropriate way to raise a family."

Now, the Mayor has changed his tune and states that it isn't about playing God by telling citizens to marry, but rather it is a safety issue. They want to ensure that houses are safe with the proper number of citizens inside.

It is good to see that religious hypocrisy continues cloaked in the *security* veil.