Biden Admin Celebrates 'Transgender Day of Visibility' by Announcing Gender-Neutral Passports
With Transgender Day of Visibility here, the Biden administration on Thursday announced a new policy that allows Americans to hide their gender on passport applications.
Starting on April 11, Americans will be able to select “X” as their gender when they apply for a passport, according to Axios.
The White House statement announcing the new policy criticized states that have put laws in place that transgender Americans dislike.
“Today, the Administration once again condemns the proliferation of dangerous anti-transgender legislative attacks that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures around the country. The evidence is clear that these types of bills stigmatize and worsen the well-being and mental health of transgender kids, and they put loving and supportive families across the country at risk of discrimination and harassment,” the statement said.
The new passport rule raised eyebrows on Twitter.
This makes perfect sense since government ID isn’t meant to provide relevant information about your physical status for purpose of identification, it’s meant to validate your feelings https://t.co/WotTRGEHUL
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 31, 2022
Not just Iran,much of the Middle East and Africa won’t accept this stunt.
— Oluwapelumi ? (@Pelumberg) March 31, 2022
Airport security also is being revised to appease transgender travelers, the statement said.
“The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will soon begin updating its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) body scanners with new technology that will increase security and efficiency by reducing false alarm rates and pat-downs for the traveling public,” the White House statement said.
“By replacing the current, gender-based system with this more accurate technology, TSA will improve the customer experience of transgender travelers who have previously been required to undergo additional screening due to alarms in sensitive areas. This new technology will help to improve the experience of travelers, particularly those who are transgender and non-binary travelers.”
The Biden administration is about to spend a bunch of tax money redoing body scanners at TSA to accommodate transgender passengers who set off body scanner alarms in sensitive areas because…well. pic.twitter.com/eo4vmIEBKc
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 31, 2022
In June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had promised the new system was coming when it changed passport applications “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 promised then that passports soon would offer a third gender option.
“The Department has begun moving towards adding a gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a passport or CRBA.
“We are evaluating the best approach to achieve this goal. The process of adding a gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons to these documents is technologically complex and will take time for extensive systems updates,” he wrote then on the State Department’s website.
ABC noted that as part of the White House’s effort to support its agenda, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will meet with LGBT students in Florida as a way of pushing back against the state’s new parental rights bill that bans discussions of gender identity in the lowest grades.
“Their conversation will focus on the impacts of Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, students’ experiences at school and, in particular, support for LGBTQI+ student mental health and well-being,” the White House said.
In a statement on his website, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said: “Parents’ rights have been increasingly under assault around the nation, but in Florida we stand up for the rights of parents and the fundamental role they play in the education of their children.”
“Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old,” DeSantis said.
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