Americans Will Be Able To Self-Identify Their Gender For Passports Under Rule Change - Forbes

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Topline

Americans will soon be able to list whatever gender they identify with on their passports without providing supporting documentation, according to multiple reports, in a major change the State Department is expected to announce on Wednesday—the last day of Pride Month.

Key Facts

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reportedly planning an official announcement on Wednesday, with the policy change following similar moves made in countries like Australia and Canada.

Under the existing policy, Americans wishing to list a different gender than what appeared on other documents—like a state ID or birth certificate—were required to have a doctor's note showing they'd undertaken a transition process.

The change would also open the door for Americans identifying as intersex or non-binary to list that identity on passports, according to The New York Times.

What We Don't Know

It's not clear at this point when the changes will officially go into effect, and it’s not known whether there will be certain gender options passports will be limited to.

Key Background

In contrast with the previous administration, President Joe Biden has consistently supported greater freedoms for transgender Americans. During his first week in office, Biden scrapped a Trump-era ban that largely kept transgender Americans out of the military. The move came after Biden signed a sweeping executive order on his first day in office called “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation." That order broadened protections for transgender Americans that already appeared in employment law to other areas of government oversight.

Chief Critics

Republican-led states have taken up a massive lawmaking effort to enact new transgender restrictions in response to Biden's order. Several states have enacted bans on transgender youth playing by their chosen identities in school sports, despite Biden's order not issuing any new guidelines when it came to youth sports. According to the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, 2021 has set a record for most new anti-LGBTQ laws in a year.