"Mother" and "Father" to be replaced on U.S. Passports

[SaberBlade]

I will admit that at first I did think "oh god, political correctness is at it again" but then a second later, common sense kicked in and I saw it as a good thing. It makes sense, because I had friends who were raised by a single parent, then finally their Aunt/Uncle who became their legal guardians when that parent died.

Father/Mother, Parent A/Parent B, Guardian A/B, or a combination of them is a good thing in a time of same sex, adoptive, single parent or parents who import kids from abroad but I don't think it really helps people see it like this when they add "but Gay groups applaud the decision and Christian groups are crying about it".

I travelled abroad when I was a kid, and I am from a single parent home (dad left when I was 7, 8) so I would not have objected to having my mums or an aunt/grandparents details included rather than my fathers.

[lordofseas]

I will admit that at first I did think "oh god, political correctness is at it again" but then a second later, common sense kicked in and I saw it as a good thing. It makes sense, because I had friends who were raised by a single parent, then finally their Aunt/Uncle who became their legal guardians when that parent died.

Father/Mother, Parent A/Parent B, Guardian A/B, or a combination of them is a good thing in a time of same sex, adoptive, single parent or parents who import kids from abroad but I don't think it really helps people see it like this when they add "but Gay groups applaud the decision and Christian groups are crying about it".

I travelled abroad when I was a kid, and I am from a single parent home (dad left when I was 7, 8) so I would not have objected to having my mums or an aunt/grandparents details included rather than my fathers.

And Faux News never advocates for the Christian Right.

[J-Whitt Remastered]

*SNIP*
if they want to compromise have it

mother, father OR parent/guardian 1, parent/guardian 2

four boxes, two of which must be filled out.
*SNIP*

This seems like a reasonable choice. You don't have the Christians complaining, nor do you have the same-sex couple complaining. I really don't see a need to make it "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" parents aren't creatures that come in a box with The Cat in the Hat.

[Cold Fuzz]

cell phones now come with 'ice contact'...ICE = In Case of Emergency

under hte theory that if you're in a wreck, the medical personnel can go thorugh your phone and find the ICE and call them

I actually had a task for work in mid-November that was related to the ICE feature on a phone, although it was for a lost and found scenario. The owner of the phone—an apparently very expensive Nokia phone—was extremely grateful that people took the time to follow procedure and locate them. I got in contact with the owner by contacting the sister first, as the sister was the ICE contact.

A lost phone and purse is a pretty big deal to someone and the ICE contact made the whole thing very smooth. The woman got her phone, purse, and all of its contents back intact just 2 days later.

[mad_gater]

actually if this is meant for types of families where the child is being raised by someone who's not even the parent then the more appropriate terms should be "guardian 1" and "guardian 2"...not "parent 1" and "parent 2"

[Pharaoh Atem]

actually if this is meant for types of families where the child is being raised by someone who's not even the parent then the more appropriate terms should be "guardian 1" and "guardian 2"...not "parent 1" and "parent 2"

then why not

caretaker 1 caretaker 2
?

[mad_gater]

well caretaker would be kinda redundant......"guardian" as a term implies "caretaker"....i.e., taking care of their charge is a duty of the guardian....not that many guardians do that but it's there regardless

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

Sound great to me. Besides gay rights, it fits better for adoptive parents, people raised by extended family, etc etc. Great choice.

yes, this exactly, with so many different sorts of families, it gets at covering everyone.

cell phones now come with 'ice contact'...ICE = In Case of Emergency

under hte theory that if you're in a wreck, the medical personnel can go thorugh your phone and find the ICE and call them

I'd recommend that for everyone to do. I have a sticker on the back of my medical card that has all my ICE information on it - next of kin, doc's name, medical allergies. It's come in handy once already

[Skydiver]

i agree

Parent/Guardian 1, Parent/Guardian 2

[Skydiver]

Guardian is also a legal term while I don't think caretaker is.

a document like a passport should stick to legal terms

[StarSancFar]

i think you should be able to choose what name goes their like mother, father, uncle, auntie, step etc because parent 1 and parent 2 doesnt tell you the gender for example if both your parents are called sam~unisex name~how are people supposed to know ? not saying its bad, just a suggestion

[Womble]

Discrimination!!! Where are the options for clones and test-tube babies?

[Cold Fuzz]

Discrimination!!! Where are the options for clones and test-tube babies?

That would probably be taken care of with using the next most viable legal term past "parent" or "legal guardian" which would be "next of kin."

[Skydiver]

yeah but 'next of kin' and parent/guardian are two different things.

next of kin can be a spouse or even a child

the goal of the 'mother/father' was a secondary form of identification and way to tell two people with the same name apart.

John smith, child of Mary and Ken, as opposed to John Smith, child of Susan and David

next of kin is not an appropriate term in the context of replacing mother/father.

[Cold Fuzz]

yeah but 'next of kin' and parent/guardian are two different things.

next of kin can be a spouse or even a child

the goal of the 'mother/father' was a secondary form of identification and way to tell two people with the same name apart.

John smith, child of Mary and Ken, as opposed to John Smith, child of Susan and David

next of kin is not an appropriate term in the context of replacing mother/father.

Oh definitely true but it was the only thing I could think of for, as the previous post said, clones and test-tube babies.