Tulsa ordinances still refer to "idiots" and "lunatics" when it comes to describing people who will not be punished for violations because of their mental state.
City Councilor Ben Kimbro said those words belong in the 1700s.
"Where these words hundreds of years ago had technical relevance, I would make the case that they no longer do," Kimbro said. "We’ve grown in our ability to use language to better describe folks that suffer from mental illness."
Kimbro proposes updating the ordinances to instead refer to "persons impaired by reason of mental retardation" and to "mentally ill persons and all persons of unsound mind." The city is actually far behind the curve.
"The state of Oklahoma, which we often wag our finger at as being behind on quite a few things, actually updated this language in 1998 and then again more recently," Kimbro said.
The council could adopt the changes early next year. Federal law uses "intellectual disability" rather than "mental retardation."
