The California legislature passed a bill Thursday that would make the state the first in the US to widely recognize a third, nonbinary gender.



On May 31, the Gender Recognition Act, or Senate Bill 179, passed the California Senate with a 26-12 vote. On Wednesday, more than three months later, it passed the California Assembly with a 57-21 vote. The bill then went back to the Senate for approval of amendments made in the Assembly. On Thursday, SB 179 finally passed the legislature, one day before the deadline for bills to be passed this legislative session.

SB 179 now awaits a decision from Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not yet indicated whether he’ll make it law. As the bill passed the legislature on Thursday, intersex activist Sara Kelly Keenan told BuzzFeed News she’s “guardedly optimistic, because we still need the governor’s signature … until he signs on the dotted line, I’m not doing any jigs.”

BuzzFeed News first reported on the Gender Recognition Act in May. To its supporters, the bill is a leap forward for California at a time when the Trump administration is working to reverse Obama-era strides in LGBT rights nationwide. Activists predict the bill’s success will inspire other progressive states to recognize a third gender, too.

The legislation’s most significant act is adding “nonbinary” as an alternative option to “male” or “female“ on state-issued identity documents. On July 1, the state of Oregon began offering “X” in addition to “M” and “F” on state driver’s licenses and ID cards — the first in the nation to do so. But the California law is broader, applying to birth certificates in addition to licenses and IDs. It also makes it possible to legally change one’s gender to nonbinary in courts statewide.