New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill into law on Tuesday, which will add a third gender category on birth certificates issued in the city.

“New Yorkers should be free to tell their government who they are, not the other way around,” de Blasio said. “This new legislation will empower all New Yorkers — especially our transgender and gender non-binary residents — to have birth certificates that better reflect their identity, and it furthers the City’s commitment to defending the rights of our LGBTQ community.”



The LGBTQ rights movement was born in NYC. Today, we're making history again in the fight for dignity and respect. https://t.co/TZikDlwGxa — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 9, 2018



Residents can now submit their own affidavits, instead of requesting a letter from a physician or an affidavit from a licensed healthcare provider, to change their gender identity on their birth certificates.

The "X" category is for individuals who do not consider their gender to be either male or female.

Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York City, said with the signing of the law, "For the first time, all New Yorkers will be able to get a birth certificate that reflects and affirms their lived reality."

Toby Adams, executive director of the Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project, which advocates for non-binary people's rights, praised the legislation. He told NBC News that "it’s really damaging legally and psychologically to have your gender identity misidentified, and there are so many places where we have to show our ID."

De Blasio held a public hearing on the birth certificate proposal last week where he said, "This is an example of respecting all New Yorkers, and giving people the freedom of self-determination and self-expression."

New Yorkers who sought to change their gender on their birth certificates prior to 2014 had to have gender confirmation surgery first.

California, Oregon, New Jersey, and Washington state also allow residents to change their gender to a nonbinary option on their birth certificates, while Maine and Washington, D.C. allow individuals to do so on driver's licenses.

[Opinion: Stop trying to rid boys and girls of their gender]