‘Words matter’: Boston councilors pass ordinance to include non-binary gender identification option on city forms
"It's really important that all of the residents, regardless of their gender identities, feel accommodated and respected in the city of Boston."
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A non-binary option could soon be required on all Boston city forms, certificates, and documents that ask for an individual’s gender identification under a new ordinance passed by the City Council Wednesday.
“It’s really important that all of the residents, regardless of their gender identities, feel accommodated and respected in the city of Boston,” said Councilor Liz Breadon, who sponsored the proposal alongside Councilor Michelle Wu. “And I think this ordinance will move that situation forward.”
The law, which still needs approval from Mayor Marty Walsh to take hold, also requires officials to submit a report to the council within 60 days after passage with an inventory of all forms that ask for gender and sex of an individual, that include a gender neutral option, and, if applicable, whether a binary gender designation is required under local, state, or federal law.
The ordinance passed the council unanimously after Breadon and Wu filed an initial draft last month.
“We know that legislation matters, words matter, and that legislation ultimately will help shift culture as well,” Wu said. “So we’re looking forward to the quick turnaround of having the full accounting, making sure we understand next steps, and that we are operationalizing what has long, long been a commitment by the City of Boston and the City Council to be welcoming, inclusive and stand for equity and equality for all.”
Councilors say the Boston ordinance will also help ensure the city complies with anti-discrimination laws.
The proposal builds on changes at other levels of government to have inclusive identification options on official forms.
Last year, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles began offering driver’s licenses with a non-binary designation, joining at least 14 states and the District of Columbia who listed a gender-neutral option at the time.
The city ordinance was born out of a constituent experience at City Hall earlier this year, according to Wu’s office.
“My partner and I had been waiting months to get an appointment at City Hall for our marriage (because COVID slowed things down),” Dom Wilkins, a Boston resident and educator, told councilors during a committee hearing on the proposal last week. “We were ecstatic when we finally got an appointment.”
Wilkins, a former vice chair of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Youth Commission, said when they arrived to fill out forms, they had not considered there was no “gender X” option since their license and health care forms already provided one.
“I cannot tell you how far my stomach dropped when I not only saw the form but was then met with resistance from staff,” they said.
Wilkins then “reached out to the people I knew who could help.”
“This experience overshadowed our entire day …. I spent my wedding day sending emails trying to ensure nobody else will have to,” Wilkins told councilors. “Amending city forms to be more gender inclusive is your way to, your effort to, make sure nobody else has to use their wedding day for the same (thing).”
Read the ordinance:
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