Massachusetts recently voted on a bill that would allow the option of selecting an "X" in place of "M" or "F" on a drivers license. This bill was passed by the Massachusetts Senate, but was denied in the House because Representative James J. Lyons, Jr. of Essex added 25 amendments to it, each of which would add a different option for gender in addition to “X” – such as “cisgender female,” “neutrois” or “androgyne,” all of which refer to various permutations of gender. The bill is now sitting in the Massachusetts House of Ways and Means without a sponsor to reintroduce it.

Eleven other US states already have laws in place allowing the option of a gender "X" on drivers' licenses. Massachusetts, being one of the more liberal states in the country, has already voted to uphold laws defending the right to use the public bathroom which most closely matches one's gender identity, and it recently became the sixteenth state to ban forced conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors. Approving this law would be yet another step in the right direction for Massachusetts, and would prove to LGBTQ+ citizens that they are cared about and valued as members of the community.

Representatives Aaron Michlewitz (House Ways and Means Chair), Denise C. Garlick (House Ways and Means Vice Chair), Elizabeth A. Malia (House Ways and Means Assistant Vice Chair), and John Barrett, III have all previously sponsored or co-sponsored bills relating to the LGBTQ+ community. Now, Bill S.2213 has been sent to the exact committee that all three of the aforementioned representatives are part of. If anyone can bring this bill back to the floor by sponsoring it, it would be one of them, so join me in asking these representatives to represent what the people of Massachusetts want!