Sawt Falasteen - US Supreme Court backs Trump admin's passport gender policy

The move is the latest blow to the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans from the conservative-majority court, which includes three justices appointed by Republican President Donald Trump.

Trump, after taking office in January, issued an executive order declaring that only two genders would now be recognized -- male and female -- ending recognition of a third gender, denoted by an "X" on US passports.

In line with the order, passports issued by the State Department are now required to state the biological sex -- "M" or "F" -- of their holder at birth.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the move and a district court judge ordered the State Department to resume issuing "X" passports to transgender and nonbinary people affected by the policy change.

An appeals court denied a Trump administration bid to overturn the district judge's order, and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency stay.

In a brief unsigned order, the top court said the Trump administration's passport policy could remain in place for now while the case proceeds in the lower courts.

"Displaying passport holders' sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth -- in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment," the court said.

The three liberal justices on the nine-member court dissented.

The State Department first issued "X" passports in October 2021 under president Joe Biden, with the "X" gender marker reserved for nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals.

Senior ACLU counsel Jon Davidson condemned the Supreme Court order and said the legal fight would continue.

"This is a heartbreaking setback for the freedom of all people to be themselves, and fuel on the fire the Trump administration is stoking against transgender people and their constitutional rights," Davidson said in a statement.

"We will continue to fight this policy and work for a future where no one is denied self-determination over their identity," Davidson added.

Trump also issued an executive order in January banning transgender Americans from military service, and the Supreme Court ruled in June that the ban could take effect while litigation challenging it plays out.

K.Hassan--SF-PST