Michigan considers adding gender-neutral option to driver's licenses

Michigan may join a growing number of states providing a third gender option on driver’s licenses.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is exploring adding a nonbinary designation, which the transgender community has been calling for.

More than a dozen states and Washington D.C. have added “X” as an alternative to the traditional gender options – “M” for male and “F” for female. “X” stands for gender neutral.

“We have heard the call from individuals and communities across the state seeking a sex-designation that matches their reality,” Benson said in a statement to MLive.

Equality Michigan Executive Director Erin Knott said adding a third option is about “dignity and respect.”

“I think that by modernizing this policy we’re helping not only to remove barriers, but we’re saying that all Michiganders, including members of the transgender community, deserve to live with dignity and respect,” Knott told MLive.

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