Gay Rep. Robert Garcia introduces legislation to make U.S. legal code “gender neutral”

House Democrats have introduced legislation that would replace masculine pronouns in U.S. law with gender-neutral language. However, it’s unclear if the legislation will get enough support to pass in the Republican-led House.

Out gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) introduced the Equality in Our Laws Act on Tuesday. The measure would direct the Office of Law Revision Counsel (OLRC) to make “non-substantive, gender-neutral revisions” to the U.S. Code, the official compilation of federal statutes.

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For example, when referring to the head of a federal agency, the Code’s language would be changed from “he” to the name of the actual position, like “the Secretary.” Similarly, gendered jobs like “fireman” or “policeman” would be changed to gender-neutral terms like “firefighter” or “police officer.”

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The legislation would make federal law “more inclusive to members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex individuals,” Pressley said in a statement.

“America has long been a beacon of freedom and equality in the world. Yet, our legal code — the very foundation of our society — continues to use a language that isn’t reflective of the country’s diversity,” Garcia wrote. “It speaks in masculine generics, silencing women and folks who are a significant part of our diverse community.”

Pressley noted that a 2015 study found that masculine job titles, like chairman, made other people see men as more fitting for high-status leadership positions than women. She also pointed out that several states have also similarly revised their own laws, including Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

It’s unclear if the bill will find enough Republican supporters in the House or Senate to become law. Republican representatives have spent the past few weeks putting anti-LGBTQ+ amendments into the military budget, an aviation bill, and a housing development bill.

House Republicans have signaled their willingness to shut down the government if their anti-LGBTQ+ measures aren’t passed. On July 10, 21 Republican House members sent a list of demands that they said must be met before they provide their must-have votes for any new government-funding bills.

This leaves House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in a difficult position: He could either remove these anti-LGBTQ+ measures and risk losing the support of his party’s House members — something that could result in his being voted out of the speakership — or he could keep them in, knowing that they’re unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Seeing as the government is now facing a September 30 funding deadline before a possible shutdown, it’s likely that the Equality in Our Laws Act will not get any serious consideration until mid-autumn.