Michigan’s secretary of state is considering giving drivers the option of choosing “X” as their identifying gender rather than “M” for male or “F” for female.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said her office is considering the change as part of a larger upgrade of the department’s driver’s license database software. Benson’s office is working with an outside vendor on the upgrade.
Fourteen states, as well as New York City and Washington, D.C., all provide a third gender or “non-binary” option on driver’s licenses. Benson’s spokesman Jake Rollow told the Detroit News that it is not clear whether the Michigan Legislature would need to approve the potential change.
Equality Michigan, an LGBTQ advocacy group, told the Detroit News that the group supports Benson in her effort to consider the change.
Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, told the Detroit News that transgender individuals face issues when they have IDs and the gender designation doesn't match they present.
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