NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A 25-year-old filed a lawsuit against the state of New York on Tuesday to allow nonbinary individuals to mark their gender identity as “X” on their driver’s licenses.
The state already permits parents and individuals to select “X” as a gender on birth certificates, but the change has yet to appear on official driver’s licenses in the state.
The lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, on behalf of 25-year-old Sander Saba, challenges that state policy limiting gender identity on licenses to male or female.
“Just think about all the things you use your driver's license for in your everyday life. You rent a car. You pass the security checkpoint at an airport. You buy a bottle of wine. You verify your identity at the bank,” says Hannah Chanoine, an attorney representing Saba.
She says in some cases, if the gender on the license isn't how you identify, it can lead to problems for that person.
Chanoine notes that the lawsuit began when Saba graduated from New York University Law School and was applying to take the bar exam.
They hope the state makes the change, because of how progressive it’s been on other issues. However, Chanoine acknowledges they may be facing a lengthy battle.
“Sometimes, change within a large bureaucracy can be slow,” she says.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in New York City names Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles as defendants.
The Cuomo administration said it had yet to see the federal complaint.
(© 2020 WCBS 880. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)