The State Department has suspended applications for passports with an X gender marker and applications to change the gender marker.
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Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed his staff to do so in accordance with Donald Trump’s executive order saying the federal government will “recognize only two sexes, male and female.”
“The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable,” read an email Rubio sent to his staff Thursday, The Guardianreports. “Sex, and not gender, shall be used” in official documents, he added.
Trump’s order, issued shortly after he took office Monday, is titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” It defines sex as strictly male or female based on the “immutable biological reality of sex” characteristics at birth.
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order says. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” It further asserts that “gender ideology replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity,” calling it a “false claim” that must be eliminated from federal policy. The medical community, including all major medical associations in America, acknowledges the existence of transgender and nonbinary identities. Also, some people are born intersex — with ambiguous genitalia or both male and female characteristics.
The State Department directive instructs staff to “suspend any application requesting an X sex marker” and to “suspend any application where the applicant is seeking to change their sex marker.” It will apply to future applications as well as those already in process, according to The Guardian.
Passports that already have the X marker are still valid, but when holders renew them, they will have to do so with a male or female marker, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “They can still apply to renew their passport — they just have to use their God-given sex, which was decided at birth,” she told news site NotusMonday. “Thanks to President Trump, it is now the official policy of the federal government that there are only two sexes — male and female.” It's unknown how many passport holders use the X marker.
The State Department made the X option available to all applicants in 2022. It had issued one passport with the X marker in 2021 — to Dana Zzyym, an intersex and nonbinary U.S. Navy veteran in Colorado who had sued the department for only offering a male or female choice on the passport application.
Advocates for Trans Equality Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen released this statement in response: “The State Department is currently refusing to issue accurate gender markers on new or renewed passports for trans Americans. The timeline for the release of an updated policy on passport gender markers is still unclear. In the meantime, trans individuals are advised to proceed with caution when applying for or renewing their passports.
“These attacks are nothing but a selfish effort to divide and distract us. The American people are fed up with the endless cycle of petty, harmful politics. Right now, countless Americans are working hard just to get by, while the Trump administration and his allies fuel fear and target the trans community. Our leaders should be tackling the challenges affecting us all, not waging culture wars. We need leaders who focus on real solutions for the people, not division. “Trump and his allies want to control our lives and dictate what it means to be a man or a woman. We’ve already seen the harmful effects of trying to rigidly define gender—an effort that hurts all women and girls, both cis and trans. Forcing people to fit into outdated gender norms only holds us back. We refuse to go back to a time when trans people had to hide, and when harmful, antiquated ideas about identity were used to oppress everyone.
“Trans, nonbinary, and intersex people are living proudly across the country, and nothing Donald Trump does can change that. During his last term, his administration tried to erase trans people from government websites and federal law, but we refused to be silenced. While many trans people are understandably frustrated and anxious, we’ve always been here - and we’re not going anywhere. We’re ready to fight for the rights and protections of our community.”