Jerry Brown Signs Law Allowing ‘Nonbinary’ Gender on State ID Documents

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law on Sunday that will allow Californians to identify themselves as having a “nonbinary” gender on state identification documents, rather than having to choose either male or female.

The law, SB 179, had been championed by Democrats since the beginning of the year. It was introduced by State Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), two of the most prominent openly gay officials in the state. It aims to allow transgender people a way to identify themselves on state documents without “the need for a court order or proof of clinical treatment to apply for gender changes,” the Sacramento Bee notes.

The first American to be recognized officially as having a “nonbinary” gender identity was Jamie Schupe of Oregon, as the result of a successful legal challenge in 2016. In July 2017, Oregon allowed people to mark “X” as their gender on state driver’s licenses — the first state to do so. Over 250 people had taken advantage of the rule change by August 2017. Washington, DC also allows a gender-neutral ID option, and other states are considering it.

Biologically, almost every human being is either female, with two “X” chromosomes, or male, with one X and one Y chromosome. A tiny minority have extra chromosomes or other unusual characteristics that complicate their sex. The new California law essentially represents the triumph of culture over science, at least in government affairs.

The new law will allow individuals to change the sex indicated on their birth certificates after producing an “affidavit attesting under penalty of perjury that the request for a change of gender to (female, male, or nonbinary) is to conform the person’s legal gender to the person’s gender identity and is not made for any fraudulent purpose.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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