Friday, June 11, 2010

US State Department Rocks: Revised Standards for Passports for Transgender Persons

You all know that I've been critical about how slow change has been by the Obama administration on LGBT issues. I wish that ENDA had been passed, the end of DADT had been an executive order, and that the President would support marriage equality.

But change is happening. On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced new rules for people who are undergoing gender transitions who need passports. It used to be that only people who had had gender reassignment surgery could change their passports. No longer true. All a person will need is a doctor to certify that they have undergone gender transition. There's even an option for someone in the process of transitioning. I would have preferred that sex be removed from the passport application completely, but this is an important step forward. You can read the new policy at www.state.gov

The President promised us that his policies would be based on science and not ideology. I'm grateful to all of our colleague organizations who have worked to bring these changes about to recognize the humanity and equality of us all.

1 comment:

Nicholas Barnard said...

As much as I'd like to see DADT removed yesterday, I'd much rather it be repealed through the legslative process. It's much more robust that way.
Executive orders are flimsy and change too frequently. Just see the global gag rule on abortion.