The State Department said in June that U.S. citizens could choose their gender in applications without having to submit medical documentation. In October, it issued the first US passport with an “X” gender index, designed to give non-binary, transgender and non-gender compliant individuals a choice other than men or women in their travel document. “From April 11, U.S. citizens will be able to choose an X as a gender indicator in their U.S. passport application, and the option will be available for other forms of documentation next year,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Americans will also be able to choose and add their gender to U.S. Social Security cards without medical documentation from the fall, the Social Security Administration said. Cards currently do not include gender indicators. The changes came amid a number of measures announced by the Biden administration to celebrate Trans Vision Day, a day after the Republican governors of Oklahoma and Arizona signed bills banning trans athletes from doing girls’ sports in schools. read more They are on a growing list of states that have passed or enacted similar laws on a controversial election year issue. Trans rights have been at the forefront of the cultural wars that have been raging in parts of the United States in recent years, along with issues such as reproductive rights. A woman holds passports while waiting to cross the San Isidro Border Crossing in San Isidro, California, January 31, 2008. REUTERS / Fred Greaves / Stock Photo “The government condemns once again the proliferation of dangerous legislative attacks against trans people that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures across the country,” the White House said in a statement on its initiatives. removing barriers for trans people. These include facilitating travel, providing resources for trans children and their families, improving access to federal services and benefits, and promoting integration and visibility into federal data. The Transportation Security Service will implement gender-neutral control at its checkpoints with changes in imaging technology, reducing the number of pat-down controls, removing gender recognition from checkpoint views, and updating the TSA PreCheck to include a gender index “X” in its implementation. The Ministry of Health and Human Services has launched a new website offering resources for transgender and LGBTQI + young people, their parents and their providers. Other services will announce new steps to expand the collection and use of sexual orientation and gender identity data, the White House said. “Every American deserves the freedom to be himself. But too many trans Americans continue to face systemic barriers, discrimination and violence,” the White House said in a statement. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Doina Chiacu. Edited by: William Maclean and Bill Berkrot Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
