Democrat Wants 'Husband, Wife' Scrubbed from Law

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that will erase words like "husband" and "wife" from federal laws.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., introduced the 57-page measure, which seeks to have the words replaced with gender neutral alternatives, such as "spouse."

The bill would also replace phrases such as "husband and wife" with "married couple" as a way to include same-sex couples.

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

The proposal is not without precedent. A similar measure was adopted in Washington state after voters approved a gay marriage measure in 2012, The Examiner reports.

"It is one sort of symbolic indication of how radical a change the legalization of same-sex marriage is," Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg said of the Washington state measure.

"Symbolically, they are doing away with the whole concept of bride and groom, husband and wife - at least in the eyes of the law," he added.