[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4876 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4876

 To direct the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives to 
  replace masculine pronouns and nouns in the United States Code with 
            gender-neutral language, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2023

 Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Robert Garcia 
of California, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives to 
  replace masculine pronouns and nouns in the United States Code with 
            gender-neutral language, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Equality in Laws Act''.

SEC. 2. GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE IN THE UNITED STATES CODE.

    (a) In General.--The Law Revision Counsel of the House of 
Representatives shall make such changes to the titles of the United 
States Code as are necessary to replace masculine pronouns and nouns in 
such titles with gender-neutral language in each case in which such 
revisions and amendments would not affect the substance or meaning of 
the relevant titles, including--
            (1) by striking ``his'' each place it appears and, as 
        required by the relevant context, inserting--
                    (A) ``the individual's'';
                    (B) the appropriate possessive form of the noun to 
                which the pronoun refers;
                    (C) ``their'' or ``theirs''; or
                    (D) the appropriate possessive form of the title of 
                the position to which the pronoun refers; and
            (2) by striking ``he'' and ``him'' each place such words 
        appear and, as required by the relevant context, inserting--
                    (A) ``the individual'';
                    (B) the noun to which the pronoun refers;
                    (C) ``they'' or ``them''; or
                    (D) the appropriate title of the position to which 
                the pronoun refers.
    (b) Revision of Positive Law Titles.--The Law Revision Counsel of 
the House of Representatives shall, pursuant to subsection (a), prepare 
and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary such revisions in the 
titles of the United States Code which have been enacted into positive 
law as may be necessary to strike masculine pronouns and nouns and 
insert gender-neutral language in each case in which such revisions 
conform to the understood policy, intent, and purpose of the Congress 
in the original enactments.
    (c) Amendment of Nonpositive Law Titles.--The Law Revision Counsel 
of the House of Representatives shall, pursuant to subsection (a), 
draft a bill to amend the titles of the United States Code that have 
not yet been enacted into positive law for the purpose of striking 
masculine pronouns and nouns and inserting gender-neutral language in 
each case in which such amendments conform to the understood policy, 
intent, and purpose of the Congress in the original enactments.
    (d) Gender-Neutral Language Defined.--The term ``gender-neutral 
language'' means language that expressly or implicitly refers to all 
genders without distinction between such genders and does not expressly 
or implicitly refer to a gender to the real or apparent exclusion of 
any other gender.
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