The bill, which now goes to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, would
allow parents to identify themselves as father, mother or parent
when a child is born, a nuanced change from the current birth
certificate that backers say is more reflective of growing rights
and acceptance for same-sex couples.
"This bill seems subtle but I think it’s going to make a profound
impact on how people view each other," said the bill's author,
Democratic Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles.
The measure, if signed by Brown, would be the latest in a spate of
actions taken by states to recognize the rights of same-sex couples.
In March, a baby in Tennessee became the first child in that state
to have two women listed on her birth certificate, although one was
in the spot marked "father."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Aug/21/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png) In Florida last year, a judge approved an adoption of a baby girl
that listed three people as parents on her birth certificate: a
lesbian couple and a gay man, who was the sperm donor for the baby
but sought a bigger role in his daughter’s life.
California already allows same-sex couples to put their names on a
child's birth certificate, offering the choices of Mother/Parent and
Father/Parent, Gomez said.
The applications for the new birth certificates, which will be
available in 2016, allow both parents to choose any of the three
ways to identify themselves - as mother, father or simply as a
parent.
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"It’s a recognition that families come in different compositions
now," Gomez said.
The bill, backed by the LGBT advocacy organization Equality
California, passed the state assembly on a vote of 58 to 15. Six
members did not vote.
There were more than 15,000 same-sex couples with children in
California in 2010, according to the U.S. Census.
(Additional reporting and writing by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento;
Editing by Eric Walsh)
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