HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2033 (Gender-Neutral Language Amendments to Municipal Code)CLERK’S CERTIFICATE
I, LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk of the City of San Rafael, and Ex-Officio Clerk of
the Council of said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing
ORDINANCE NO. 2033
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING THE SAN RAFAEL
MUNICIPAL CODE IN ITS ENTIRETY TO REPLACE GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE
WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
is a true and correct copy of an Ordinance of said City, and was introduced at a REGULAR
meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 5th day of February
2024; a SUMMARY of Ordinance No. 2033 was published as required by City Charter in
the MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, a newspaper published in the City of San Rafael,
and passed and adopted as an Ordinance of said City at a REGULAR meeting of the City
Council of said City, held on the 20th day of February 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Kertz, Llorens Gulati & Mayor Kate
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bushey & Hill
WITNESS my hand and the official
Seal of the City of San Rafael this
21st day of February 2024
______________
LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk
ORDINANCE NO. 2033
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING THE SAN RAFAEL
MUNICIPAL CODE IN ITS ENTIRETY TO REPLACE GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE
WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
WHEREAS, the San Rafael Municipal Code contains mostly masculine pronouns;
and
WHEREAS, all genders are created equal; and
WHEREAS, amending the San Rafael Municipal Code to include gender-neutral
pronouns by eliminating any gender preference language within the San Rafael Municipal
Code will promote equality.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.. The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds that all Recitals are
true and correct and incorporate them herein by this reference.
SECTION 2. Gender-specific language reflected throughout the entire San Rafael
Municipal Code, not including the City Charter, is hereby replaced with gender neutral
language as grammatically appropriate and in a manner that does not change the legal
meaning of any provision of the code.
SECTION 3. Each specifically gendered term identified in Exhibit A, attached
hereto and incorporated herein, and which is also found within the San Rafael Municipal
Code, shall be replaced by a corresponding non-gendered term. Exhibit A is non-
exhaustive and may be amended from time to time.
SECTION 4. Section 1.08.090 (Gender), Subsection 10.04.010(A) (Definitions)
and Subsection 14.03.020(E) (Rules for construction of language) are hereby amended
to read as follows. Additions are shown in underline, and deletions are shown in
strikethrough.
1.08.090 – Gender neutrality.
Any gender includes the other genders. Whenever a personal pronoun is used
in the neutral gender, it shall be deemed to include the feminine and masculine
also. “They/them” shall indicate a singular individual, unless the context indicates
the contrary.
10.04.010 - Definitions.
A. In this chapter the singular number includes the plural and the plural the
singular, and the masculine gender includes the other genders. Whenever a
personal pronoun is used in the neutral gender, it shall be deemed to include
the feminine and masculine also. “They/them” shall indicate a singular
individual, unless the context indicates the contrary.
14.03.020 - Rules for construction of language.
E. References in the masculine and feminine genders are interchangeable.
Whenever a personal pronoun is used in the neutral gender, it shall be
deemed to include the feminine and masculine also. “They/them” shall
indicate a singular individual, unless the context indicates the contrary.
SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall be published once, in full or in summary form,
before its final passage, in a newspaper of general circulation, published, and circulated
in the City of San Rafael, and shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final
passage. If published in summary form, the summary shall also be published within
fifteen (15) days after the adoption, together with the names of those Councilmembers
voting for or against same, in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated
in the City of San Rafael, County of Marin, State of California.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was first read and introduced at a regular meeting of
the San Rafael City Council on the 5th day of February 2024, and was passed and adopted
at a regular meeting of the San Rafael City Council on the 20th day of February 2024 by
the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers: Kertz, Llorens Gulati & Mayor Kate
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: Bushey & Hill
KATE COLIN, Mayor
Attest:
LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk