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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Lawmakers gave initial approval to a measure that would allow transgender people to change the gender marker on their birth certificates, passports, and identification cards.

Currently, people must first undergo surgery before changing their gender on documents, but a bill that advanced out of a House committee Tuesday removes that requirement. The proposal now goes to the full chamber for consideration.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Illinois says such changes without surgery are already allowed in 12 states and under federal law.

Those states include California, New York, Oregon, and Minnesota.

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