Politics

Attorney Generals Urge The FBI To Add ‘X Gender Code’ For Crime Data

Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Lacey Kestecher Contributor
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Twenty-one state Attorney Generals signed a joint letter Monday to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) demanding that the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system include “non-binary gender designation.” 

The UCR system currently categorizes individuals as either male or female with the respective gender codes of “M” or “F,” however, the AGs  “urge the FBI to make the ‘X’ gender code, which indicates that a person is non-binary,” their letter states.

The AGs claim that having two only gender codes “discourages law enforcement agencies from collecting data that accurately reflects the gender of non-binary individuals” and that “refusing to recognize non-binary individuals’ gender identity in crime reporting is an affront to their dignity and can be harmful to their mental health and well-being.”

“Non-binary individuals are already subjected to higher rates of violence and harassment, and they may choose not to report crimes if they know they will be misgendered in the process,” Massachusetts AG Maura Healey — one of the coalition’s leaders — said in a statement. “We are calling on the FBI to immediately take action and eliminate this barrier to ensuring our non-binary residents are protected and recognized.”(RELATED: Army Having Second Thoughts About Gender-Neutral Fitness Test)

New Jersey AG Gurbir Grewal — also a co-leader — stated that including “X” gender code “is critical to affirm gender identity & improve accuracy of nationwide crime data.”

The letter includes AGs representing New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Oregon, among others.

The “X” gender classification is already being implemented for driver’s licenses throughout twenty-two states and Washington, D.C.