Chip Chick
This law made it possible for people to no longer have to undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to get their IDs or licenses changed. Now, you can simply declare your gender identity to get it changed on official documents.
Gender “X” is now also required as an option for birth certificates in the state of New Jersey as well.
New Jersey is hardly the first state to adopt gender “X”; in fact, they’re now the 20th state. Washington, D.C. was the first to start doing this, followed by Oregon.
“Trans people need accurate and consistent IDs to open bank accounts, start new jobs, enroll in school, and travel,” the National Center for Transgender Equality points out.
“However, the name and gender change process is complicated and sometimes prohibitively expensive.”
“Moreover, many state and federal governments have intrusive and burdensome requirements—such as proof of surgery or court orders—that have made it sometimes impossible for trans people to update their IDs.”
“As a result, only one-fifth (21%) of transgender people who have transitioned according to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey have been able to update all of their IDs and records with their new gender and one-third (33%) had updated none of their IDs or records.”
