Washington, DC – Congress voted today to remove the word “lunatic” from a section of the US Code that defines the meanings of certain words used in acts of Congress. According to Bloomberg , the legislative bill, titled 21st Century Language Act of 2012, removes the offending term from various provisions written in 1947 and 1962. The word “idiot” would remain, perhaps so they can describe a Congress that allows the waste of time that Senate Democrats spent not avoiding the Fiscal Cliff .
In a move that can only be described as the epitome of political correctness , Democratic Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) desired that the change would eliminate “references that contribute to the stigmatization of mental health conditions .”
“The term ‘lunatic’ holds a place in antiquity and should no longer have a prominent place in our U.S. code,” said House Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), said today on the floor. The targeted language from 1947 currently reads: “The words ‘insane’ and ‘insane person’ and ‘lunatic’ shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis.” The word itself is derived from the belief that lunar cycles have an impact on brain function.
The measure written by Kent Conrad is backed by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of School Psychologists and other professional and advocacy groups. It makes you wonder what politically correct speech these groups do use to describe those with mental illnesses?
Fortunately, the bill sailed right through Congress, wasting only a little time, with the only “no” vote cast by Republican Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who also serves on the same House Judiciary Committee as Bobby Scott.
“Not only should we not eliminate the word ‘lunatic’ from federal law when the most pressing issue of the day is saving our country from bankruptcy, we should use the word to describe the people who want to continue with business as usual in Washington,” Gohmert said, which was perhaps the only sane action from Congress all day long.
Do you think Congress should not be wasting their time removing politically incorrect speech like “lunatic” from Federal Law when the fiscal cliff is looming close ahead?