In another powerful move for LGBTQ rights, California is now the first state to officially recognize a third gender.
Governor Jerry Brown signed the Gender Recognition Act, also known as Senate Bill 179, into law on Sunday night. The bill allows Californians to identify as male, female or nonbinary on legal documents such as driver’s licenses and birth certificates. It also makes it easier to change the gender listed on a birth certificate, removing the previous requirement that a doctor must provide a statement. The bill will go into effect in 2019.
The Gender Recognition Act was first proposed in January to "ensure that intersex, transgender, and non-binary people have state-issued identification documents that provide full legal recognition of their accurate gender identity."
Many other states are proposing similar legislature. Last year, the Oregon court ruled that a person could legally identify as neither female nor male and this year Washington D.C. began offering non-binary drivers licenses.