SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Activists on Monday celebrated a decision by Puerto Rico’s federal district court to allow nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people to update their birth certificates.

The ruling comes after a group of six nonbinary people filed a lawsuit against Puerto Rico’s governor, its health secretary and other officials.

The ruling means that nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people will now be able to select ‘X’ as their gender marker on birth certificates.

Pedro Julio Serrano, president of Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation, called Friday's ruling a historic one that upholds equality.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón told reporters that she was awaiting recommendations from Puerto Rico’s Justice Department regarding the ruling.

The ruling comes more than seven years after a U.S. federal court ordered Puerto Rico’s government to allow transgender people to change their gender on birth certificates following a lawsuit if they so wished.

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What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

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