Joyce Minor

One change could lead to more

Joyce Minor | Highlands Today
Published: December 2, 2012

During the recent election cycle, residents of the state of Washington voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

I disagree with the whole concept of same-sex marriage because of the unhealthy confusion it fosters in the impressionable minds of children and teens. I also believe it devalues the sacred institutions of marriage and family, not to mention how it complicates legal issues.

Now, to add to that damage, the state of Washington is considering changing the wording on government forms used by couples applying for marriage licenses. The state proposes replacing the terms Bride and Groom with Spouse A and Spouse B. They would also completely eliminate use of the terms husband and wife. I don't know about you, but Spouse B definitely sounds inferior to me, so does the applying couple have to argue out who is A and who is B in their relationship. That's a great start.

These changes may seem appropriate for same-sex couples, but why should heterosexual couples have to be subjected to this confusing language? And why should some bureaucrat be the one who decides to require it?

Now, I realize some readers may already be thinking, "What difference does it make? Why does it matter what terminology is used on one form that no one will ever look at again?"

Ah, but there's the problem. If this form is changed, what will be next? Divorce papers, insurance forms, adoption records, passports and on and on it will go.

Will some government bureaucrat arbitrarily decide to rewrite the political correctness boundaries yet again so that birth certificates, school records and immunization documents also cannot use any term referring to a student's sex?

Will teachers be told they cannot refer to a child's mother or father, just to Parent A or Parent B? Perhaps even the word parent will be displaced by something more generic, like guardian. Will the terms brother and sister become inappropriate, too, so that our kids grow up knowing only Sibling A and Sibling B?

What might all of this do to our courts? Can any preference be given to a child's natural mother in custody battles if she opted to be Spouse B on her marriage license and Parent A on the child's birth certificate? This could get really messy.

I don't think even Ancestry.com will be able to keep family records straight if people cease to be categorized by anything referencing their gender, especially in this age when many popular first names have become unisex as well, like Taylor, Morgan, Ryan and my own granddaughter's name, Alex.

The other consideration, and this is a biggie, is how in the world can we do anything about it? Granted, it is not our battle in the state of Washington, but it's likely this will spread to Florida and across the nation, like the same-sex marriage campaign. How can sanity prevail in a world where political correctness has become the trump card in every battle, played by government bureaucrats without the consent of the governed? Just as with the national debt, this whole issue threatens to become one more botched legacy we will pass on to our sons and daughters.

Or maybe I should say our children, lest I be thought prejudiced. Or maybe, just to be safe, I should say our progeny. Or maybe …