California becomes first state to include 'nonbinary' gender option on official documents

California Gov. Jerry Brown has approved a legislation that would allow state residents to choose a third option on their birth certificates and driver's licenses to match their gender identity.

SB179, signed into law by the governor on Sunday, makes California the first state in the U.S. to offer a gender option for "nonbinary" individuals, or those who do not identify as male or female.

While most of the bills that were recently signed into law by Brown will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018, SB179 will take effect a year later, according to CNN.

The new law would allow residents to change their gender on their documents without undergoing any treatment. It would also provide modified procedures for obtaining a court order for a name change to conform to the petitioner's gender identity and a court judgment to recognize a change in the petitioner's gender.

Democratic state Sen. Toni Atkins, who helped author the bill, issued a statement thanking the governor for approving the measure.

"I want to thank Governor Brown for recognizing how difficult it can be for our transgender, nonbinary and intersex family members, friends and neighbors when they don't have an ID that matches their gender presentation," he said.

"I have dear friends in San Diego and around the state who have been waiting a long time for this," he added.

Kris Hayashi of the Transgender Law Center celebrated the signing of the bill, calling it "absolutely groundbreaking."

"We are always being asked to show our identification at the airport, at banks and for nonbinary people and transgender people to go through life without identification that reflects who we are can be truly dangerous," Hayashi said.

The legislation, however, was opposed by the conservative California Family Council, which contended that it "advances a lie; that being male or female, or no gender at all, is a choice each person has a right to make."

The group was also critical of another measure signed by Brown that threatens penalties for long-term care center workers if they fail to use the preferred pronouns for transgender patients.

In July, Oregon allowed residents to their gender as "not specified" on their driver's licenses and identity cards, making it the first state in the nation to offer a new gender option on state IDs.

European Union member states have also introduced measures to allow people to choose genders other than male or female. In 2013, Germany became the first European nation to effectively allow parents to choose an "intermediate sex" gender for newborn babies displaying characteristics of both males and females.