Inclusion Daily Express -- Virginia Measure Would Drop "R" Word

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Virginia Measure Would Drop "R" Word
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 18, 2008

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Disability groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia have been campaigning for lawmakers to drop the phrases "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation" from state laws and replace them with "intellectually disabled" and "intellectual disability".

And the measure they are championing appears to have moved closer this week to becoming state law.

On Tuesday a House committee unanimously approved HB 760, and on Thursday, a Senate committee did the same with companion bill SB 620, both of which would drop the language, which many people consider offensive.

"It's a pejorative term. It's like the 'N-word,'" explained Nancy Mercer, executive director of the Arc of Northern Virginia. "By changing it on the state code . . . we get rid of that word. It really isn't just a word change. It's a civil rights issue."

If approved, the measure would cost an estimated $75,000 to change signage and state codes to reflect the new language. It would not come into effect until June 2009.

Some critics said that before the law would be implemented, lawmakers would have to figure out how to deal with the fact that the state's death penalty law specifically forbids execution of people diagnosed with mental retardation.

Forty-three other states have removed the words "retarded" and "retardation" from their laws.

Related:
"Delegates vote for ban on usage of 'retardation'" (Virginian-Pilot)
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/delegates-vote-ban-usage-retardation
"'Retarded' Is A Dirty Word" (WUSA-TV)
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67443

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