12.28.2005 | Family

The city of Manassas, Virginia, has taken upon itself the redefinition of what a "family" is. At least insofar as a "family" inhabits a single house. From today's Washington Post, here's the story, and the city's definition:

A. An individual;

B. Two or more persons related to the second degree of collateral consanguinity by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship, or otherwise duly authorized custodial relationship, as verified by official public records such as driver's licenses, birth or marriage certificates, court orders or notarized affidavits, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, exclusive of not more than one additional unrelated person;

C. A number of persons, not exceeding three, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship; or

D. Not more than two unrelated persons and their dependent children living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit.

Four, as opposed to three, guys sharing a house? No can do. Not in Manassas. The obvious intent is to avoid having this suburb of Washington descend into trailer-park hell. Which it very well might do. Since it turns out that many, if not close to all, of the overcrowded houses are shared by immigrants, the usual cries of "racism" fill the air.

The city of Manassas, like many in the DC metro area, goes about its business like a nanny, looking to dictate as much of our lives as it can get away with. It seems like they've crossed the line, here, however.

A man's home used to be his castle. What this meant was that what went on within its walls was the owner's business. Nobody else.

Now, if the house is a public nuisance, that's something the authorities can, and should deal with. Excess noise, trash strewn on the public streets, drug dealing, prostitution, anything that disrupts the neighborhood should be actionable. Who, and how many live there? None of the authorities' business.