List one: Male? Female? Non-binary?
State governments are adapting to people that do not identify with either male or female gender designations, providing a third option, non-binary on driver’s licenses and other legal documents.
State Senator Toni Atkins (D- San Diego) sponsored Senate Bill 179 that passed by a 26-12 vote on May 31 and then moved to the Assembly for consideration, and if passed, will go to Gov. Jerry Brown for signing, according to the Associated Press.
The bill adds non-binary for driver’s licenses, birth certificates, identity cards and gender change court orders.
It will also allow minors to apply for gender change on birth certificates with permission from parents.
State Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego/Imperial) remarked he was proud California was leading the way by standing up for equality for all individuals in the transgender and non-binary community.
“We must continue to move forward to eliminate all forms of bias and discrimination, and offering a third gender option in official documents is an essential first step,” he said.
Oregon became the first state to issue a non-binary driver’s license last year for resident Jamie Shupe.
He was born in Maryland in 1963 and raised there until he joined the U.S. military. While in the armed forces, he struggled with gender identity yet he married and had a daughter.
Moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2014, he met a transgender support group.
In April 2016, Shupe petitioned the Multnomah County court for a sex change and he asked to identify as non-binary, neither male or female.
His request was granted by a court order from Judge Amy Holmes Hehn. Shupe was delighted but concerned the issue would, “die with me.” However, there are now 20 people in the U.S. who are legally non-binary, according to the Intersex and Genderqueer Recognition Project.
Also, an ID option for gender, reading X is now an option acceptable under United Nations aviation standards. Several countries allow a third gender option on passports and national ID cards including Australia, Germany and New Zealand, noted Lambda Legal, a nonprofit committed to achieving civil rights for the LGBT community.
Advocates say it is not merely an issue of semantics. About one third of transgender people maintain they were harassed, assaulted or denied service because their ID did not match their gender appearance, according to a 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender equality.
“Presenting an ID that does not accurately reflect ones’ sex triggers invasion of privacy and discrimination in employment, education, public accommodations, health care and housing,” Lambda Legal wrote to the Oregon Department of Transportation. On July 3, 2017 Oregon Transportation Commission made available IDs with the third option of, X. In fact, Washington D.C. in June began offering licenses with an X designation.
However, Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com argued against the legislation because allowing people to change gender induces identity fraud. Thomasson noted SB 179 makes it more difficult to accurately identify non-binary suspected criminals in court and disrupts law and order.