LGBTQ+ advocacy group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is planning to deliver a petition to US president Joe Biden on the Trans Day of Visibility (March 31), which calls for him to sign an executive order to introduce gender neutral passports for non-binary citizens. The petition, which has been signed by over 72,000, said the Trump administration “intentionally and cruelly cut out trans and non-binary people”, and urges Biden to reverse this damage.
ACLU is asking Biden to introduce ‘X’ markers to US passports, so that non-binary citizens do not have to select either ‘M’ or ‘F’ to receive the document. ACLU says that the barriers trans and non-binary face when trying to access ID documents which align with their gender identity are likely to “impact their safety and wellbeing.” This issue disproportionately affects “black trans people, who are more likely to face harassment when presenting an ID that does not match their presentation.”
Biden vowed to roll out gender neutral passports earlier this year, with White House spokesperson, Matt Hill, saying: “President Biden remains committed to advancing state and federal efforts that allow transgender and non-binary Americans to update their identification documents to accurately reflect their gender identity, especially as transgender and non-binary people continue to face harassment or are denied access to services because their identification documents don’t affirm their identity.” So far, no date has been set as to when the passports will be officially introduced.