House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), who was reelected to lead the chamber on Sunday, and Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern (D-Massachusetts), proposed changes to the House of Representatives rules on Friday, including the elimination of all “gendered” language and the permanent establishment of a House “Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”
The proposed rules package strips all mention of gender-specific pronouns and terms such as father, mother, son, daughter, brother and sister. The terms parent, child, and sibling will be inserted as replacements. Furthermore, a reference to chairman would be changed to chair, references to he or she would be swapped out for member, delegate or resident commissioner, and a reference to seaman would become seafarers, among other language changes.
While Pelosi claimed the changes are necessary in order “honor all gender identities,” Franklin Graham argued that God only created two genders.
“God ‘created them male and female’ (Genesis 1:27),” he posted to Facebook. “This is shaking a fist in the Creator’s face, trying to deny His authority. If those claiming the name ‘progressive’ are allowed to have their way, we won’t even recognize this nation in a very short time.”
Staten Island’s Congresswoman-elect, Nicole Malliotakis, also took issue with the proposed rule changes: “There are millions of Americans suffering, our economy is hurting, vaccine distribution is lagging and Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats are worried about this nonsense,” she told the New York Post. “Here’s a gender-neutral word to describe this legislation: ridiculous.”
In another attempt to be “politically correct,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Missouri)—an ordained United Methodist pastor—opened the 117th Congress on Sunday with a gender-neutral prayer.
“We ask it in the Name of the monotheistic God, Brahma (the creator god in Hinduism), and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen, and awoman,” he prayed.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania), who posted a video of the prayer to Twitter, was quick to point out that the word amen, which originated in Hebrew and found its way into the Aramaic, Latin and English languages, actually means “so be it” and is not a gendered word.
“Unfortunately, facts are irrelevant to progressives,” he added. “Unbelievable.”
The House’s 45-page rules package is expected to be voted on later today.
Above: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi waves the gavel on the opening day of the 117th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
Photo: Bill Clark/Pool via AP