Jay Schafer is ready to go to jail to defend America’s right to live in a small house. Seriously. For nearly 14 years this founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses has led what he calls “My aggressive pacifist’s campaign to make the built world a smaller place.”

He’s been on Oprah, led seminars all over the country and been active and serious about a very serious issue - housing - the third most common cause for homelessness in America next to addiction and mental illness.

To date, Jay’s approach has been to “Pretty much just live my life in a small footprint and hope that my example might inspire others to do the same.”

As we all know, that doesn’t work so much. Not when Television networks like HGTV and the DIY channels keep giving away castles and mansions and glorifying the addition of thousands of square footage to homes for a couple and their dogs.

He’s tired of being a pacifist. GOOD for him.

Jay wrote his followers recently:

“On Wednesday, March 3 at roughly 7:00pm at the Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol, CA. Jay will be taking a somewhat more active approach. Ignite Sebastopol 3 is part of Global Ignite Week. Roughly a dozen speakers from the Bay Area will be given just twenty slides and five minutes each to present their subjects. I will be using my time to rip America’s system of imposed excess a new body part. My distain for the building codes that restrict how small a house can be is no secret. On March 3rd I’ll be making my position all the more clear. All presentations will be recorded and posted for international viewing.

We’re expecting a full house (~130 inside, and others watching the live feed to a screen in the outdoor Beer Garden), so get your tickets early.

I see this as a great way to kick off a period of more active activism in which I will be working to convince the International Code Council that International Residential Code (sections 304.1,2 &3 in particular) needs revision. I don’t expect this to be easy. The road ahead is likely to be a long one for all opposed to size prohibition- one full of marches and demonstrations, possible jail time and the all the fun stuff seemingly integral to social change. I’m already working on my “I Have a Tiny Dream” speech and bracing for the possibility of my own tiny Waco. I hope everyone else out there in favor of housing rights will start thinking about what they can do to help. I will, of course, be using our website to keep folks posted about marches, sit-ins, stand-offs and other fun ways to get involved.”

What Jay is talking about is how building codes and zoning ordinances conspire to prevent sustainable, small foot print homes of 500 square feet and less. Because a county can’t make as much tax on small homes as they can on large ones, they keep increasing the mandatory size of homes. This shuts most Americans out of the American dream of home ownership since most of us can’t afford a half-million dollar, 1,200 square foot home. We CAN afford a 200 to 400 square foot home for $50,000 or less.

I don’t know if he’ll go to jail or not, but the important thing is, he’s willing to, to stand up for a cause he believes in. I think with the economy, the timing is right. I’m behind him 100%. You go Jay!

Viva la Tiny Revolution!