Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has ruled that ‘X’ gender markers are permitted on birth certificates, meaning non-binary and gender-nonconforming people can be recognised as their true selves legally.
On Monday (2 June), activists celebrated after Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court ruled to allow gender-nonconforming people to select ‘X’ as their gender market on birth certificates.
The decision comes after six non-binary individuals filed a lawsuit against Puerto Rico’s governor, health secretary and other officials, challenging the territory’s existing birth certificate policy.
LGBTQ+ activist Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation called the ruling a “historic decision for equality”.
@pinknews Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has ruled that nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people can update their birth certificates to include ‘X’ as a gender marker. The decision came after six nonbinary individuals filed a lawsuit against the governor, health secretary, and other officials, challenging the territory’s existing birth certificate policy. The ruling has been celebrated by LGBTQ+ activists, with Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation calling it a historic decision for equality. Governor Jenniffer González Colón said she is awaiting recommendations from the Justice Department regarding implementation. This decision places Puerto Rico alongside at least seventeen other U.S. states that already allow nonbinary or gender-neutral markers on birth certificates. #puertorico #genderneutral #nonbinarytiktok #birthcertificate #lgbtqia ♬ The Champion – Lux-Inspira
Governor Jenniffer González Colón said she is awaiting recommendations from the Justice Department regarding the decision’s implementation.
The decision places Puerto Rico – which is an unincorporated US territory rather than a state – alongside 17 US states that already allow non-binary or gender-neutral markers on birth certificates.
The states that allow ‘X’ gender markers on birth certificates are California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.
In 2023, Daniela Arroyo González became the first trans women to compete in Puerto Rico’s Miss Universe contest.
Trans contestants have been able to take part in the competition since 2012, and, in 2018, Miss Universe Spain, Ángela Maria Ponce Camacho, was the first transgender contestant to compete in the global pageant.
Miss Universe – co-owned by Donald Trump until 2015 – banned trans women from entering until 2012.
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