Oregon is adding “X” to the “M” and “F” gender boxes on its driver’s licenses, becoming the first state to recognize intersex, genderfluid, and agender people on IDs, NBC reports. The option will be added as of July 3rd. California is considering a similar bill.
The decision was inspired by Portland resident Jamie Shupe, who became the first person to be legally recognized as neither male nor female last year, thanks to a ruling by an Oregon circuit court. Soon after, New York City issued Sara Kelly Keenan–who was born with mixed reproductive organs–the first known intersex birth certificate.
According to The Oregonian, DMV officials have “had no opposition to the change.”
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Twenty-two people testified at a public hearing about the rule in Oregon in May, and all were in favor of the change. The Oregonian quoted genderfluid resident Danno Mannino:
ID cards are something we show at banks, to new bosses, to police, to bartenders…And every time I have to pull it out of my wallet, my heart sinks that my true name and gender are not acknowledged on it yet. … The smallest of interactions, as they build and build, weigh heavy on the hearts of our community. We are hurting and are asking to be considered.
Though far off, passports could be next. Another big push was made last year when a federal judge in Denver ordered the State Department to reconsider denying Navy Seal Dana Zzyym their intersex status on their passport. The State Department can take the case to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which it has yet to decide.
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