California lawmakers want to add a third gender option on drivers’ licenses all over the state. The purpose of this is to accelerate a process that people already go through. It takes a lot in order to change sex on a birth certificate without going through an actual sex change. California lawmakers want to help non-binary people expedite that process.

California State Senators support and sponsor the “Gender Recognition Act”. This act supports adding a “non-binary” to the list of male and female genders on documents used for state identification. This will allow those who are not comfortable with self-identifying as a man or a woman to have an option.

What do lawmakers have to say about a third gender option?

Toni Atkins, who is the State Senator of San Diego, stated “Our society is becoming more enlightened every day about gender identity”. “It’s time for our state to make it easier for transgender Californians and those who don’t conform to traditional notions of gender to have state-issued identification documents that reflect who they truly are.” She also added: “This bill will help them avoid the discrimination and harassment that too many of these residents face in their daily lives.”

Under California law, it is required that an individual who is seeking to change their birth certificate must show proof. That proof needs to involve clinical treatment regarding gender transition coming from a doctor. However, more people are not taking that step towards confirming their identity. Instead, they’re stopping short of the invasive and often complicated procedures and simply announcing their identity, thereby transitioning socially. Therefore, they can transition without taking such an extreme, and often expensive, step.

This new legislation would allow people to change their gender without a hearing and would remove the requirement mentioned above as long as no objection is filed.