Americans will now be able to choose the gender displayed on their passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA), and will not be required to provide medical documentation if their chosen gender does not match other identification documents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Thursday. Other gender options are on the way as well.
“The Department of State is committed to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons…. We will be updating our procedures to allow applicants to self-select their gender as ‘M’ or ‘F’ and will no longer require medical certification if an applicant’s self-selected gender does not match the gender on their other citizenship or identity documents,” Blinken said in a statement. Those seeking a gender switch need only submit a new passport application with their desired gender marker.
“The Department has begun moving towards adding a gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a passport,” Blinken added, while admitting that process of adding a gender marker for such persons to their documents is “technologically complex” and “will take time for extensive systems updates.”
The State Department “cannot provide an exact timeline” for when the new gender marker might be available, according to its website.
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The new State Department policy takes cues from other countries, according to Blinken. “In line with the Administration’s commitment to re-engage with allies and partners, the Department is taking these steps after considerable consultation with like-minded governments who have undertaken similar changes,” he said.
Reportedly, multiple countries legally recognize “non-binary” or third gender classifications and have introduced an “X” gender on passports, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Also, 16 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., allow individuals to choose their gender on their driver’s license.
The American Civil Liberties Association (ACLU), alongside other LGBTQ advocates, was behind the push to add a “more-inclusive” gender marker for federal IDs, and has welcomed the news. Arli Christian, ACLU campaign strategist, said in a statement that the changes are an “important step forward” and that “improved access to accurate passports will have such a profound impact on the lives of trans, intersex and non-binary folks across the country.”
The Human Rights Campaign said the policy will affect millions of Americans, “including 1.2 million non-binary adults, 2 million transgender people and as many as 5.5 million people who were born intersex.”
Changing government identification and other public records such as birth certificates to reflect confused people’s imagined “identity” rather than their actual identifying characteristics has indeed been a major goal of LGBTQ activists. Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine joined the ranks of medical institutions elevating “social justice” above medical science by calling for “rethinking” how biological sex is recorded on birth certificates.
In June, the American Medical Association (AMA) stated the sex should be removed as a legal designation on the public part of birth certificates. “Assigning sex using binary variables in the public portion of the birth certificate fails to recognize the medical spectrum of gender identity,” and can be used to discriminate, Willie Underwood III, who identifies as a doctor, believes. AMA has been advocating for “modernizing” birth certificates since 2014.
While LGBT activists and “woke” medical “experts” insist that being a man or woman is strictly a matter of perception — a mere “social construct” that is “assigned” at birth — in reality sex is rooted in an individual’s chromosomes and reflected by hundreds of genetic characteristics. Despite the claims that indulging gender-confused individuals’ chosen “identity” is essential to their well-being, gender confusion is actually linked to an array of long-term mental and emotional ills, including higher suicide rates.
The State Department’s policy comes as a fulfillment of President Biden’s promise to implement these changes during his 2020 campaign. “Transgender and non-binary people without identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity are often exposed to harassment and violence and denied employment, housing, critical public benefits, and even the right to vote,” a State Department document noted in a massive list of LGBTQ-focused promises. Other vows included protecting “LGBTQ+ individuals from violence,” as well as more ominous-sounding goals, such as calling to “collect data necessary to fully support the LGBTQ+ community.”
Last week the president appointed a special envoy to advance LGBT rights around the world, days after his government announced it will offer to cover gender-reassignment surgery for transgender veterans.
Also last week, Blinken announced the State Department and U.S. embassies would fly the “Progress” flag — which incorporates a black, brown, light blue, pink, and white chevron into the pride flag design — for the first time ever to mark Pride Month.
