California citizens who do not identify as male or female will soon have the ability to identify as a third gender on all state documents.
On October 15, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Gender Recognition Act, which allows California residents to identify as ‘non-binary’ on birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
Jerry Brown is currently trying to pass another bill to include individuals who do not identify as female, male, or non-binary; such as transgender and intersex people.
Jerry Brown also signed a separate bill, Senate Bill No. 310, that would allow people in prison and county jail the ability to ask a court for a name or gender change. Senate Bill No. 310 states that on “September 1, 2018…. the bill would…establish the right of a person under the jurisdiction of the department or sentenced to county jail to petition the court to obtain a name or gender change”.
In addition to this, the state prison system has offered to pay for any and all inmate’s gender reassignment surgery who have asked for it, and it has added some rules allowing inmates to ask for bras and cosmetic and personal items.
McClatchy’s QSA (Queer Straight Alliance, known formerly as Rainbow Coalition Club) supports the new law. Vice President Abby Schumacher, a junior, is happy for this new law because people who “feel they are in the middle have an option, not in a box to place themselves in.”
President Leeza Wong, a senior, sees California’s choice an important step and a great way to start. “We chose nonbinary first because it’s an umbrella term for many genderqueer identities that fall in the middle of the gender spectrum.”
Both Schumacher and Wong see the law’s immediate effect on McClatchy. Once the law starts next year, the school needs a new form since CKM is a public school, so it “should follow suit,” according to Schumacher.
Although recognizing people’s genders and sexualites will take time in America as a whole, it is possible. As for California, Wong is proud for the state’s decision but believes the state should wait for its neighbors before making another step.