Seattle residents, lawmakers, and community leaders often see themselves as nationwide leaders of equitable and inclusive policies and actions that champion the dignity of every resident who calls this city home. Yet even within the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC), our laws contain outdated, gendered, and grammatically incorrect language.

While sifting through the SMC to replace terms like “chairman” with “chair” may seem tedious or trivial at first glance, this process carries weight in legal terms. Gendered titles or designators are relics of a past that no longer represents who we are, and correcting them will help clarify a future vision that aligns with who we aspire to be. Modernizing the SMC with gender-neutral, grammatically correct language is long overdue and necessary to ensure that, down to our bones, our laws reflect our diverse residents.

Modernizing the SMC wouldn’t be a complicated process: An ad-hoc committee of city employees, commissioners, and community members could oversee revisions under existing Washington state authority. Doing so would align the SMC with state standards and reaffirm Seattle’s commitment to being a welcoming city for everyone.

Washington state has provided a model for decades. Since 1983, its legislature has required all new laws to be written in gender-neutral terms. The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) allows municipalities to modernize and clarify language “without changing the meaning.” Neighboring cities have already started this process: Everett authorized edits for gender neutrality in 2021, and Redmond followed suit last year, citing its commitment to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” to ensure that all residents feel “respected and included.”

Other West Coast municipalities have done the same. Contra Costa County called its effort part of “ongoing work to modernize language and reflect community diversity.” Los Angeles completed its process efficiently and affordably, correcting typographical errors along the way and proving that modernization improves both inclusivity and readability. The reasoning is simple and sound: No one should feel excluded or invisible in the text of their local government’s laws.

For Seattle, home to one of the largest 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and other diverse expressions of gender and sexuality) populations in the country, the stakes are high in light of a volatile national climate. As Orla Blythe, a city employee and Race and Social Justice (RSJ) alum, notes, “These efforts are about protecting human beings’ ability to self-determine.” A longtime advocate for modernizing the SMC, Blythe reminds us that language is dynamic and can evolve to reflect our shared values or stagnate to reinforce exclusion. Like a mirror, the language of Seattle’s laws should reflect our values.

Modernizing the SMC is more than grammatical correctness; it’s a stand for inclusion. At a time when federal rollbacks to 2SLGBTQIA+ protections, erasure of Queer history and healthcare records, and rising hostility nationwide are the norm, local action is where protection begins. The city council recently incorporated Washington’s shield laws into city law, protecting those seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care from hostile federal actions. Lawmakers should redouble their efforts to meet this political moment by ensuring that the SMC reflects everyone it governs.

In this view, modernizing the SMC is a preemptive public safety act, as it enshrines in law that every Seattle resident belongs. Blythe, who immigrated from Ireland to enjoy Washington’s protections, reinforces this point by riffing on a proverb attributed to the Irish poet-turned-politician William Butler Yeats: “We shouldn’t wait to strike till the iron is hot but make it hot by striking.”

Entering a new legislative cycle, lawmakers have an opportune moment to collaborate with community members by forming an ad hoc committee to modernize the SMC. This process will achieve more than some utopian ideal of grammatical or political correctness. It will ensure that each of us who calls this city home will see ourselves in our laws.

So, as Blythe would say, let’s meet this moment and make the iron hot by striking.