A new Massachusetts state law is in the process of being implemented which will allow people to choose a non-binary gender option for vital records, including birth and death certificates and marriage licenses, as well as a variety of state documents. This new rule reflects reality; there are thousands of non-binary people in the state of Massachusetts and they deserve government documents that reflect who they are.
Applauding this new law, CEO Joan Erwin provided comment to the Daily Hampshire Gazette for an August 21, 2024 article entitled, Budget provision expands gender options on state documents. “When you’re getting a job, you often have to fill out various forms and provide multiple forms of identification,” said Erwin. “That can be, at the very least, embarrassing and marginalizing for people who have different genders listed on different documents.”
Erwin added, ““The public still wants to identify people by the binary,” Erwin said. “I don’t think it’s because of a lack of openness, but out of habit, since that’s what we’ve been taught. What we need is more education.”
Transhealth is proud of the role we played in advocating for this important change. We would also like to thank all the legislators who have championed this rule, including and especially Senator Jo Comerford and Representative Mindy Domb- who led this fight for Western MA and who understand that having government documents that reflect your gender is a basic human right.
