A Missouri couple and their three kids are about to lose their home.

Eminent domain, you ask? Bankrupcy? Asset forfeiture?

No. They’re about to be kicked out of their home because the woman, her boyfriend of thirteen years, and their three kids don’t fit the petty little town’s definition of a “family.”

At the hearing, Shelltrack said, one board of adjustment member, Norma Mitchell, even pointed at her and asked, “I don’t understand why you as a woman didn’t exercise your right to marry that man,” before being hushed by another board member.

Mitchell refused to comment. She referred all calls to Black Jack Mayor Norman McCourt, who defended the ordinance.

“This is about the definition of family, not if they’re married or not,” he said. “It’s what cities do to maintain the housing and to hold down overcrowding.”

The family of five lives in a home of 2,300 square feet.

Thanks to law school pal Bryan Westhoff for the tip.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 at 8:04 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.