New York City is the most recent city to allow a third gender option on birth certificates for persons who do not identify as male or female. They will be classified as gender X. NBC News reported that the city council and board of health in the nation’s largest city voted Wednesday to include the third gender marker on birth certificates as of Jan. 1, 2019. The new policy will no longer require persons who identify
as such to provide a note from a doctor or a health care provider’s affidavit in order to make such a change. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, a Democrat, backed the policy earlier this summer, noting in statement that the city’s policy will “allow transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers to live with the dignity and respect they deserve.” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced the bill in June and lauded its passage, saying it was a historic day for New York “in its role as a worldwide champion for inclusivity and equality.” READ MORE
