Tennessee Wants to Replace "Mother" & "Father" with "Parent 1" & "Parent 2"

Last week, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts said that it was replacing “mother” and “father” with “Parent 1” and “Parent 2” on official documents. After a public outcry, the office reversed the decision, at least for now, saying that it was consulting with the Domestic Committee of the Tennessee Judicial Conference (Todd Starnes, “Tennessee Courts Reverse Ban,” Fox News, Aug. 19, 2015). This is the latest in a stream of nutty laws and regulations pandering to homosexual rights and thus destroying the rights of others. In 2008, California replaced “bride” and “groom” with “First Person” and “Second Person” on new marriage licenses. The parties have the option of further identifying themselves as “bride and groom,” “bride and bride,” or “groom and groom.” In 2007, Scotland’s National Health Service approved a policy for hospital workers forbidding the use of historic and biblical terms such as “mother,” “father,” “husband,” and “wife,” labeling this “homophobic language” (Ed Vitagliano, “There is only one acceptable way to talk about homosexuality -- SILENCE!” OneNewsNow.com, May 31, 2007). Since 2008, teachers in some major cities in Scotland have banned Father’s Day cards so as not to offend students who live with single mothers and lesbians (“Father’s Day Cards Banned,” London Telegraph, June 20, 2008). In 2011, the U.S. State Department removed the words “mother” and “father” from passport applications. In 2013, the words “mother” and “father” were dropped in favor of “parent” from Scottish matrimonial law under First Minister Alex Salmond’s plans to redefine marriage (“‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ to Be Scrapped,” christian.org.uk, Feb. 11, 2013). In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education redesigned student loan applications to replace “mother” and “father” with “parent 1” and “parent 2.” In 2014, a public school system in Lincoln, Nebraska, asked teachers to avoid the words “boys” and “girls” to make their classrooms more gender-inclusive (ChristianHeadlines.com, Oct. 13, 2014). In June 2015, a corporate note to employees of Goldman Sachs investment firm informed them that they must “help create an environment for open and honest dialogue” by using inclusive language and avoiding descriptors such as “wife,” which should be replaced with “partner” (“Goldman Sachs Tells Employees ‘Wife’ Insults Gays and Transgenders,”Breitbart, Jun. 21, 2015). Todd Starnes observes that the true motive behind the gay marriage activists is to deconstruct the traditional American family, concluding, “I reckon it’s only a matter of time before Tennessee completely conforms to the demands of the gender-neutral crowd and begins referring to children as ‘Thing One’ and ‘Thing Two.’”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 28, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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