Laws could some day be gender-neutral

The House approved Monday night a bill ordering a commission to study making the state laws and constitution gender-neutral.

The General Statutes Commission, an advisory panel of law experts, would study what it would take to take the "he" out of the state's laws. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat, said the usual solution would be to use titles, such as "governor" rather than changing the text to read "he or she."

"The governor is referred to as 'he' throughout the entire constitution," Ross said. "The governor is female right now."

Rep. George Cleveland, a Jacksonville Republican, said he was not a big fan of political correctness, but his real objection was over making any changes to the state constitution.

"I have no problem with the female race whatsoever. I might be chauvinistic in a lot of ways," Cleveland said. "I have learned in my life that there are a lot of very intelligent, competent females who could lead me around by the nose...I have no problem with a female governor. I have no problem with a male governor. My problem is I want them all to be competent to lead our state."

Ross said the statutes commission does its work without compensation. And, she advised her House colleagues, the group is a big fan of multiple drafts and revision. The changes proposed in the law could take years to study.

An existing state law already says that any reference to a "he" should be read as "he or she" for legal purposes.

The bill, which was sponsored by Cary Republican Sen. Richard Stevens cleared the House 79-33. It now goes to the governor for a signature. It was not immediately known whether she would sign it.