City Of Boston Will No Longer Require Gender Markers On Marriage Licenses

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — For the first time in history, Boston's marriage licenses will no longer require sex or gender identification markers.

At a press conference Tuesday, Boston Registrar Paul Chong handed out the first of the new licenses to Kimberly Rhoten, who identifies as nonbinary.

"I have eagerly awaited a transformative future when my identity and the identities of my community would be recognized and respected by the institutions that govern us," Rhoten said.

The move comes amid new gender-aware guidelines and standards for municipal services in determining when and how to collect gender identity information.

"A person's gender and sexual identity can be tremendously important to their overall identity," the City said in a statement. "These guidelines and standards seek to balance the right to be affirmed against risks and constraints."

According to the City of Boston, the new guidelines and standards have four goals:

• Define key terms City staff should understand related to gender identity
• Help City departments determine when it is necessary and appropriate to ask constituents about their gender identity
• Provide standard language that City departments should use when they have determined they need to ask constituents about their gender identity
• Align the standards in the guidelines with state, federal, or other data systems that have limitations in how they record this data

"We’re committed to ensuring that all City employees and departments get the proper support to embed gender inclusive language and practices into the way they engage with residents and ask for personal information," said Chief Digital Officer Julia Gutierrez. "Just as the language for talking about gender is dynamic and changes over time, we expect to regularly review and continuously improve these standards and guidelines in response to the feedback we receive."

The City said that any Boston residents who wish to update their marriage license to remove sex or gender identification can contact the City Registry for a new copy.

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