US Supreme Court grants stay that restricts gender expression on passports

The US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a policy to move forward that prevents nonbinary and transgender people from having gender markers on their passports that align with their chosen identity.

In the 6-3 decision, the court held that:

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 respondents’ failed to establish that the government acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when issuing passports. 22 U. S. C. §211a permits the government to:

…grant and issue passports, and cause passports to be granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by diplomatic and consular officers of the United States, and by such other employees of the Department of State who are citizens of the United States as the Secretary of State may designate, and by the chief or other executive officer of the insular possessions of the United States.

The court said that the government was likely to succeed on the merits because it would suffer an “irreparable injury” without the stay. The government argued that it would be injured by “having to speak to foreign governments” in instances of identifying people, which is contrary to its foreign policy and ‘scientific reality.’”

In February, the ACLU sued the Trump administration when the president signed an executive order reversing a Biden-era policy that allowed transgender and nonbinary people to mark an “X” on their passport. The lawsuit claimed that the policy violated the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fifth Amendment by infringing on individuals’ privacy rights.

The case will be remanded to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for further litigation.

The post US Supreme Court grants stay that restricts gender expression on passports appeared first on JURIST – News.