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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Army Vet Granted ‘Non-Binary’ Sexual Status

PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) — In what appears to be the first such ruling ever, an Oregon judge granted a transgender person's petition to be legally considered "non-binary," rather than male or female.

Jamie Shupe of Portland filed a petition for change of sex in April. Shupe, who was born male, used the honorific "Mx" in court filings.

Shupe is an Army veteran who began changing gender in 2013. Shupe's attorneys submitted documents in Multnomah County Court to request a change from "female to "non-binary."

Under Oregon law, a judge can grant a petition for change of sex if a person submits proper evidence of hormonal, surgical, or other gender transition treatment.

Multnomah County Judge Amy Holmes Hehn granted judgment on Friday, changing Shupe's gender from female to non-binary.

Advocates for transgender rights praised the ruling as the first of its kind.

"It's really exciting for the courts to actually recognize what we know to be true: Gender is a spectrum," Nancy Haque, a director for Basic Rights Oregon told The Oregonian newspaper.

Haque called it "a momentous day for genderqueer Oregonians."

Shupe told the Daily Dot, an Internet news site, that the "first goal is to tackle the Oregon DMV," as the state's identification forms still have only "male" and "female" options.

Shupe was featured in a New York Times project called "Transgender Today," which collected opinion columns from transgender people across the country.

"I have effectively traded my white male privilege to become one of America's most hated minorities," Shupe wrote. "The documents of my distinguished military career no longer reflect my name."

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