Washington State to Eliminate 'Bride' and 'Groom' on Marriage Certificates

The words "bride" and "groom" are about to become archaic language in Washington state as officials prepare to remove the terms, along with "husband" and "wife," from marriage and divorce certificates, Todd Starnes reports. Tim Church, a spokesman for the Washington health department, told Fox News they will likely be removing those words in favor of more gender-neutral terms in response to the same-sex marriage law that takes effect in the state December 6. "We've been quickly moving ahead to change our marriage certificate to make sure it fits for everyone who is going to be using it," Church said. The words "bride" and "groom" could be replaced with "Spouse A" and "Spouse B" or "Person A" and "Person B." The department has been taking public input, but the state's secretary of health will ultimately decide which terms are used. "We want our form to work for everyone who is getting married," Church said. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council said: "It is one sort of symbolic indication of how radical a change the legalization of same-sex marriage is. Symbolically, they are doing away with the whole concept of bride and groom, husband and wife -- at least in the eyes of the law."