Today, the U.S. Senate finally passed a budget entitlement reform tax reform a bill striking the word "lunatic" from federal law.
This is certainly one of those remember-where-you-were moments:
The Senate on Wednesday quickly approved legislation that would remove the word "lunatic" everywhere it appears in the federal code.The Senate approved S. 2367 by unanimous consent, giving the House a chance to act if it wishes, although no House member has introduced a similar bill.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) introduced the bill back in late April with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Conrad said the bill was the result of a conversation with a constituent, who said current law casts a stigma on people with mental disabilities. "Sen. Crapo and I agree that federal law should reflect the 21st-century understanding of mental illness and disease, and that the continued use of this pejorative term has no place in the U.S. Code," Conrad said in April.
I wrote about this bill back in April with similar snarkiness. Click here to read that post.