The U.S. State Department recently announced it would be changing the passport application form to say “Mother or Parent 1″ and “Father or Parent 2” -- an attempt to be more inclusive of all family structures.

In response, Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) has called the change "a bureaucratic attempt to redefine traditional parent roles," and has filed a bill that would require all federal agencies, contractors, and government-sponsored enterprises to "use the words 'mother' and 'father' when describing parents, and not the words 'parent 1' or 'parent 2' (or other similar words), in all official documents."

Several hundred thousand children are being raised by same-sex parents across the country, over 6,500 of them in Rep. Forbes' state of Virginia, according to the Williams Institute of UCLA.

Forbes' proposal is an attempt to exclude, in the face of a simple, inclusive solution.

Please sign the petition urging him to pull the bill.

Photo credit: Robert Rexach, Wikimedia Commons