San Diego banned the use of 'he' or 'she' in future city laws or policies to accommodate the roughly 1% of people who don't identify as male or female.
The southern California city announced the progressive policy on Tuesday after the a unanimous council vote.
Councilmember Raul Campillo and Council President Jennifer Campbell proposed the Inclusive Language Policy, which was passed in July and approved by the Council this week.
According to the new policy San Diego: 'must draft its Council Policy Statements, regulatory legislation, proposals to amend the City Charter by ballot, and amendments to the current municipal code in a gender-neutral, non-binary manner when referring to a person or group of people to promote inclusive language in San Diego.'
Moving forward city policies will be required to use 'they' and 'their' instead of 'he' and 'she,' and to use words such as 'humankind' instead of 'mankind.'
San Diego banned the use of 'he' or 'she' in future city laws or policies instead using 'they'
Data shows that under one percent of Americans don't identify as either male or female
Councilmember Raul Campillo (left) and Council President Jennifer Campbell (right) proposed the Inclusive Language Policy
'To truly be America's Finest City, we must be an inclusive and welcoming City for all,' Campillo said in a statement. He explained that the policy was necessary to: 'more properly reflect its diverse and dynamic residents and employees.'
Campbell, who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, also released a statement following the Council's approval. 'It is an important step to make our governance a more welcoming place for all of San Diego's people; especially those who do not see themselves reflected within a gender binary.
'We heard loud and clear from our community and from our LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group about how damaging it feels to be forced to make a choice that does not reflect your identity.'
National data that reports that under one percent of Americans don't identify as male or female, but instead use pronouns 'they' and 'their.'
Critics of similar progressive policies believe that government officials should work on projects and policies that impact a larger majority of the population.
But Campillo doesn't agree with critics: 'If even one more LGBTQ+ person's well-being is improved and one less person is harmed, it will have been worth it,' he said, according to The San Diego
