DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILL TO BAN ‘HUSBAND’ AND ‘WIFE’ AS ‘ANTI-GAY’ WORDS
“Gendered terms” would be removed from federal law
Image Credits: Stefano Bolognini via Wikimedia Commons.
Fresh off the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, Democrats in California have introduced a bill that would ban the words “husband” and “wife” from being used in federal law because they are “gendered terms” and discriminate against gay people.
The words husband and wife were deleted from California state law last year in order to accommodate same sex marriage.
Under new legislation proposed by over two dozen Democrats, that same rule would be applied federally. The bill, introduced by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif, would introduce new “gender-neutral” terms such as “spouse” or “married couple.”
“The Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act recognizes that the words in our laws have meaning and can continue to reflect prejudice and discrimination even when rendered null by our highest courts,” Capps said. “Our values as a country are reflected in our laws. I authored this bill because it is imperative that our federal code reflect the equality of all marriages.”
Capps said that amending the language used was necessary to reflect “the equality of all marriages” following last month’s Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage that mandated all states to license same sex marriages.
“Now that compulsory gay marriage is the law of the land thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, liberals are reaching out from that decision to see where else they can force the gay lobby’s agenda on the country,” writes Warner Todd Huston.
Meanwhile, a Toledo Municipal Court judge who refused to marry a same sex couple because of his religious beliefs is seeking an advisory opinion from the Ohio Supreme Court on whether he can opt out of performing gay marriages.
“On Monday, July 6, I declined to marry a non-traditional couple during my duties assignment. The declination was based upon my personal and Christian beliefs established over many years. I apologize to the couple for the delay they experienced and wish them the best,” Judge C. Allen McConnell, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Gay group Equality Toledo said the couple were “humiliated” by the incident, despite the fact that they were married by another judge shortly afterwards.