Democrats Declare War On Words 'Husband,' 'Wife'

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Kromlech

Query:

Why are the gender specific terms being removed, rather than just adding extra terminology to the pre-existing document?

I think it's probably because it's the easier option, rather than leaving more opportunity for ambiguous terms in legal wrangles. The minutiae of terminology causes endless and needless fuss, so why not just have fewer terms recognized across all legal documents?

a reply to: Rocker2013

I just think it would be nice for people to have their status described in a manner they feel most comfortable with. I have never been fortunate enough to be married, but if I did, I would want the government to refer to my lady in communications, as my wife, not my life partner, spouse, or what have you. Couples should select from a list upon marriage or upon taking up domestic premises, in order that their preferred choices be remembered in communications from the state.

a reply to: Kromlech

Geez, it's not like they're banning the words or criminalizing the use! They're updating policy which makes sense.

My gosh we do like to push the panic button on stupid stuff around here!

a reply to: Shamrock6

Seriously though, I don't see how this is going to change a man calling his spouse a wife or husband. Or vice versa.

It isn't, and it isn't supposed to...

I authored this bill because it is imperative that our federal code reflect the equality of all marriages."

It doesn't change what you call the "old ball and chain". It just changes how federal documents refer to the "old ball and chain".

a reply to: Klassified

Thank you for restating what I already said?

originally posted by: Wookiep
WTF????

I am convinced "Liberals" suffer from a serious mental condition. Republicans have issues too, I'm not taking anything away from them here either... But "Liberals" are a special kind of stupid, many years of rehab and closely monitored assistance is needed..... I'm not even joking, and that is the sad part. :/

Meanwhile, what kind of moronic melodramatic delusion does a "reporter" need to be suffering from to come up with a title like "Democrats Declare War On Words 'Husband,' 'Wife'?"

a reply to: Kromlech
This is a declaration of war? I had no idea these 2 words were countries. This does make sense in regard to government documents and wording. I personally prefer husband and wife. I always found the wording 'man and wife' odd. People can use whatever they like in private or refer to themselves however they like in public.

originally posted by: irishhaf
I don't know what to say, as screwed up as the country is today... This is a priority...

I need some whiskey stat..

The majority of bills written are not of an emergency nature. Try watching C-Span for an hour.

I think Orwell was about 40 years off.

2024

originally posted by: Wookiep
WTF????

I am convinced "Liberals" suffer from a serious mental condition. Republicans have issues too, I'm not taking anything away from them here either... But "Liberals" are a special kind of stupid, many years of rehab and closely monitored assistance is needed..... I'm not even joking, and that is the sad part. :/

Could you expand on exactly why?

And so the grand march of the state sticking its nose into the family continues ...

Pretty soon we'll need extra paperwork to designate which "spouse" is which and the state will regulate that, and it will have more implications for the parent/child relationship which the state will now be even more deeply entrenched into.

originally posted by: Rocker2013

originally posted by: KnightFire
Are you freaking kidding me???

I had a long rant typed out and as I was typing I realized I was just wasting my time on STUPID!

Yes, the stupidity of being outraged by nothing more than a proposed change in the terminology used in contracts.

You got it Rocker! Not worth the time of day IMO.

a reply to: Kromlech

Yeah she looks like all her screws are in tight, crossthreaded of course.

Someone should tell her the military is in sequestration and Americans do not want another pointless War. Are they going to fight this one with tanks and carrier battle groups? Have KIAs and take prisoners? Maybe she needs to go talk with the Marine Corps on how a war is actually fought before using such a stupid phrase.

a reply to: Kromlech

From what I have seen here at ATS, there is a tendency to help out in matters which seem to confound those on other sites.
In this instance I think we could come up with some very effective terms or words which can be used to replace " husband and/or wife" if we set our minds to it.

Might I start off this effort by suggesting the very generalized terms of "sex-partner" for those couples who are not married and "sex-mate" for those who are married. The reason for the similarity is because of the common activities which are invovled and the differences are to distinguish the actual legal status of the couple.
I am sure there are some others who can offer as good or even better terms which can be used.

originally posted by: ketsuko
And so the grand march of the state sticking its nose into the family continues ...

Pretty soon we'll need extra paperwork to designate which "spouse" is which and the state will regulate that, and it will have more implications for the parent/child relationship which the state will now be even more deeply entrenched into.

Sticking it's nose into family? I didn't realize legal documents were family.

Listen, law is ALL about the semantics and syntax. Changing wording of legal documents benefits everyone when ambiguity is removed. That's all this is.

I can see why they are trying this. I am very curious how many laws/bills will need to be eddited in this way and why a blanket statement bill can tbe passed to encompass all of this. Also, I'd like to see more of the obamacare wording to see if spouse was used frequently or if husband and wife were. It probably doesn't matter but it will give us a little insight as to if the president and his cabinet have been pushing this kind of equality all along or its just a political ploy.

a reply to: reldra

We have infrastructure crumbling across the nation, it is also not even remotely secure .

We have rampant crime in the big cities, our education system blows, we are hemoraging middle class jobs.

Taxes continue to rise, the country is bringing in record amounts of revenue and yet we are 18 trillion in debt and climbing.

Medicare and social security are fubar ed.

Military has faced major manpower cuts but little slacking off of ops tempo...(that's going to screw us big time)

Everything I just listed are must fix now yet there are no quick easy fixes.

This is useless political grandstanding ..

originally posted by: irishhaf
a reply to: reldra

We have infrastructure crumbling across the nation, it is also not even remotely secure .

We have rampant crime in the big cities, our education system blows, we are hemoraging middle class jobs.

Taxes continue to rise, the country is bringing in record amounts of revenue and yet we are 18 trillion in debt and climbing.

Medicare and social security are fubar ed.

Military has faced major manpower cuts but little slacking off of ops tempo...(that's going to screw us big time)

Everything I just listed are must fix now yet there are no quick easy fixes.

This is useless political grandstanding ..

Hey turn the tube off and everything will be fine.

Ohhh boy !! I need some popcorn to see what other new amendments come out of the USA in wake of the marriage equality act

This slope is getting slippery,

a reply to: residentofearth

Lets ban daughter and son too, because this words describes sex.

Sounds reasonable. We can just use the word "children" instead. That is fewer characters and less space - should save some money on printing costs and help reduce the deficit.

Hey! Imagine that: a "reduced legal jargon led recovery"