Update: The N&R reports in Wednesday morning’s edition that an official with HUD’s regional office says federal regulations “may not be interpreted to justify the housing authority’s issue to prohibit use of the common area for religious activities.”
The N&R editorialized on HUD keeping Granny from reading the Bible in a High Point public housing development:
The fact that HUD attorneys are reviewing the High Point situation at length might indicate a change in how the Fair Housing Act is interpreted in Washington. If the government now plans to prohibit voluntary religious gatherings in publicly subsidized facilities, then similar activities also might be in jeopardy.
The N&R’s Doug Clark wrote that “people all across the country will be very upset if this administration is going to start messing with people’s religious rights as a matter of policy.”
I can certainly see the Obama administration —-of all people —taking a hardline reading of federal housing law. But again, I see this as part of the larger problem of government being in the housing industry, period. The state constantly has to make difficult policy decisions while carrying out higher moral missions –such as alleviating homelessness by providing housing. And guess what –someone’s rights get trampled on. Problem is government believes it’s always taking the moral high ground.
Looking at this situation, which Clark calls “absurd,” imagine the many difficult policy decisions involved in the higher moral mission of providing healthcare for everyone. Hard to believe people’s rights wouldn’t be messed with at some point.
