A bill would make the state more careful with its language about disabilities.

Legislation filed this week by Sen. Katie Dorsett, a Greensboro Democrat, would make the state refer to "people with disabilities" rather than "the disabled."

The bill, titled "People First," aims to make legal references to disabilities a secondary trait rather than the sole description.

In place of "handicapped," "mentally retarded" or "mentally disabled," the state would say "people with disabilities," "intellectual disability" or "mental illness." The state would also avoid saying people were "afflicted with" or "suffering from" a disease.

"Certain terms are demeaning and create an invisible barrier to inclusion as equal community members," the bill says.