The Supreme Court has approved a policy that allows the State Department to require the biological sex of individuals to be specified on new or renewed passports. This decision is seen as a win for the Trump administration, which aims to tighten regulations regarding transgender individuals.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Court determined that a lower court in Massachusetts made a mistake by blocking this policy. The majority opinion, delivered without a signed order, stated that indicating a passport holder’s gender at birth is comparable to stating a person’s country of birth. They claim it’s merely about acknowledging a historical fact that doesn’t lead to discriminatory treatment.
However, three justices dissented. Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by Biden, expressed her concerns, suggesting that her colleagues have developed a habit of siding with the Trump administration during emergency cases. Jackson noted that the ruling neglects the impact on vulnerable populations, arguing that it disregards the rights of plaintiffs and undermines impartial justice. She pointed out that transgender people have been able to list their preferred gender on passports for over three decades.
A class action lawsuit from more than a dozen individuals who identify as transgender, nonbinary, or intersex is ongoing in lower courts. The plaintiffs argue that passports should represent their lived gender rather than the gender assigned to them at birth.
Attorney General John Sauer, representing Trump, emphasized that passports convey critical information to foreign governments, implying that private citizens shouldn’t dictate how this information is presented in contradiction to policy or scientific understanding.
This policy, which replaces the Biden administration’s gender-neutral “X” option on passports, is a continuation of executive actions initiated by Trump aimed at compelling transgender individuals to align with their biological sex in specific contexts, like sports and military service.
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the Supreme Court’s recent victories for the Justice Department, specifically regarding emergency cases, which are often resolved swiftly. She remarked that this ruling allows for the enforcement of biological sex listings on passports, reinforcing the notion of two distinct genders, with a commitment to uphold that perspective.
