A US federal judge has ruled that a policy started by President Donald Trump, which stopped transgender and nonbinary people from getting passports that match their gender identity, is likely against the American Constitution, reports said.
The judge, Julia Kobick, gave a temporary order to stop this rule for now, but only for six people who had filed a case against it. She did not stop the policy for everyone in the country.
Judge Kobick, who works in Boston and was appointed by former President Joe Biden, said the rule was unfair and showed hatred towards transgender people. She said it was based on irrational thinking and went against the American value of equal rights for all.
The case is linked to an executive order signed by Trump when he returned to office on January 20. The order said the government should only recognize two biological sexes — male and female — and told the State Department to make sure all passports reflect the person’s biological sex at birth.
After this order, the State Department changed its rule. It started asking for the person’s biological sex and allowed only “male” or “female” to be mentioned on passports.
This was a big change from the earlier rule, where people could choose how they identify — male, female, or even a neutral option marked as “X”.
In 2022, the Biden government had made it easier for people to identify their gender on passports. They were allowed to choose “M,” “F,” or “X” based on how they identify, not based on their birth sex.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which supported the people who filed the case, has not yet commented. The State Department also has not given any response so far.
