WASHINGTON, DC – The US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Thursday (Friday Manila time) to require passport applicants to be identified on the document by their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity.
The move is the latest blow to the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans from the conservative-majority court, which includes three justices appointed by Republican President Donald Trump.
Trump, after taking office in January, issued an executive order declaring that only two genders would now be recognized — male and female — ending recognition of a third gender, denoted by an “X” on US passports.
In line with the order, passports issued by the State Department are now required to state the biological sex — “M” or “F” — of their holder at birth.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the move and a district court judge ordered the State Department to resume issuing “X” passports to transgender and nonbinary people affected by the policy change. AFP
An appeals court denied a Trump administration bid to overturn the district judge’s order, and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency stay.
In a brief unsigned order, the top court said the Trump administration’s passport policy could remain in place for now while the case proceeds in the lower courts.
“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth — in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the court said.
The three liberal justices on the nine-member court dissented.
The State Department first issued “X” passports in Oct. 2021 under president Joe Biden, with the “X” gender marker reserved for nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals. AFP
