On The New Passport Form: "Children watching their parents complete the forms, such crossing out and amending reinforces the message that their families are marginalized"

Early in January, the U.S. State Department announced it would be changing the passport application form to say “Mother or Parent 1″ and “Father or Parent 2,”  an attempt to be more inclusive of all family structures.

Now, Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) has called the change "a bureaucratic attempt to redefine traditional parent roles." He has filed a bill that would require all federal agencies, contractors, and government-sponsored enterprises to "use the words 'mother' and 'father' when describing parents, and not the words 'parent 1' or 'parent 2' (or other similar words), in all official documents."

Several hundred thousand children are being raised by same-sex parents across the country, over 6,500 of them in Rep. Forbes' state of Virginia, according to the Williams Institute of UCLA. How exactly does Rep. Forbes expect them to complete government forms?

Sure, one can cross out and write in whatever applies to one's own family -- but many people may hesitate to do so on official forms like a passport application. And for children watching their parents complete the forms, such crossing out and amending reinforces the message that their families are marginalized.

The “Mother or Parent 1″ and “Father or Parent 2” change was itself a slight alteration from the original plan to say simply "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" on the applications. The Associated Press reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was worried that removing “Mother” and “Father” from the forms “would spark an unwanted fight with newly powerful Republican lawmakers who are calling for major cuts in foreign operations spending and have challenged administration policy in numerous areas.” And the ultra-conservative Family Research Council put out a statement saying the original change flew in the face of both biology and social reality, and “violates the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).”

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to me that “With Secretary Clinton’s input, we have since decided to revise the relevant forms to retain the existing designation of mother and father in addition to the designation of parent.” The new forms are expected to be available March 1.

A small concession to the right, but with inclusivity retained. I could accept that. Forbes' proposal, however, is a small-minded attempt to exclude, in the face of a simple, inclusive solution.

Photo credit: Robert Rexach, Wikimedia Commons  http://news.change.or

Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian, a blog and resource directory for LGBT parents.