The motion comes after multiple courts have found Trump's passport gender marker ban for transgender people to likely violate their constitutional rights and US law.
"Self inflicted." This is why I hate the whole concept of "gender identity". It makes it seem like being trans is whimsical, like we ordered our gender online after perusing options on Amazon. I didn't "self identify" as being trans, I AM TRANS. "Transgender" reflects my experience of being, my dispositions, orientations, and relationships with society, the world, and my body.
This post addresses this issue, and I hope it can help. (I do my best to write succinctly yet clearly for a general audience; some of my other posts there may be of interest also.)
I’m waiting for the courts to fully realize that gender identity comes from our brains, not our crotches. Apparently that’s a big leap for many folks, but hey, we once believed fire was a God. There’s hope.
Thank you! I am a trans women and I never liked the term "gender Identity". I think it would be more accurte just to say gender. There is some history to sex and gender being used synoymously. We don't need to words to refer to the same thing. I think dropped the word "identity" makes it sound less like a life style choice and more like the reality of existance that it is to us.
Who the fuck came up with that gender identity bullshit . Sex change should have stayed and frankly if it hadn’t become such that everybody was experimenting with pronouns we may not be where we are . We should have kept things as they were in the 90s
The prejudice and hateful maliciousness of policy of this administration distinctly billboards and reflects the magnitude of contempt and viscous disregard they have for ALL Americans, not just trans people. We’re currently the only group of citizens they feel they can get away with doing this to, but as trump’s approval ratings continue to tank, they’ll keep moving the Overton window of the hateful Heritage Foundation further right, especially if the corrupt SCOTUS decides to rule in the government’s favor. Transgender people are American citizens. Any attack on trans people, black people, women, immigrants, disabled people, etc. with regard to civil rights is an attack on ALL Americans civil rights.
And we all know the supreme court could care less about the constitution. I am terrified, but I'm stuck here.
My Mom doesn't seem to get how bad it is right now. She just says "live your life", but it's pretty difficult when we know people who just live their life are getting snatched from their job based off the color of their skin.
Is there anything I can do? I don't like being helpless.
First, nothing anyone can say will be *really* helpful, in the way we'd like. It is indeed horrible, and that is what it is. Just as if one lived in eastern Ukraine (or Gaza).
But we also do have to combat that sense of helplessness; even if the power is small, our mental health demands a plan. This is what I wrote just a few days ago; I intend to follow with some further thoughts of an actionable sort. It's grim. But it's action.
Terrifying. Does anyone know whether they have retained records for passports changed during the Biden years? As in, do they have a way to know which passports to revoke beyond the ones being changed during this period? Trying to determine if this is the sign to GTFO now or if I’m over-reacting. I had my passport updated two years ago, new name and gender.
As far as I know, social security changes are all logged permanently so if you changed your sex marker/name on social security they can definitely use that information to determine who they need to revoke a passport from.
This is hypothetical but I believe this is a big part of their reasoning to get DOGE access to SSN info in addition to creating the Palantir "master database" on all citizens. They have a list of all people who have transitioned legally and I believe it's their full intent to use that list to harm us.
To answer simply - yes, State has access to all of your passport applications. A simple query in the database will pull up all of your prior applications and supporting documents.
The Privacy Act *used* to protect such records and restrict them to "need to know" and legal actions. Since DOGE and DJ, the federal government has no further need for legality. ( 😒 )
Also Erin, the attestation form, makes me nervous. Though I know we have to submit that too. This all seems like a way to create a "list" of our beautiful comunity....and it be used for nafariuos reasons in the future. We are in MA, and I feel my child is "safe" but....there is an inderlying anxiety in me.....
1. If a passport with a F gender marker is revoked, will we be able to get a revised passport with an M gender marker?
2. If we are able to get a revised passport with an M gender marker, will that actually be accepted as a valid re-entry document after travel abroad given that our other official documentation has an F gender marker?
If the answer to either 1 or 2 above is "No", that effectively amounts to a travel ban.
Not great for those of us with close family in other countries who may be nearing end of life.
1) During the original ban it was just new passports and renewals at risk. I expect the same thing here. So if you have a passport you should be safe until it needs to renew.
Honestly, I wouldn't. I assume you would be fleeing to somewhere like Spain and not Saudi Arabia. Trust me that the western world (maybe aside from the UK) is very sympathetic to the plight of trans people right now. I don't think your daughter's deadname passport would be risky for entering a friendly country. Of course bring along any documentation that corroborates the name change (court order).
If Europe is your destination, I would suggest hopping from JFK (friendly airport) to Iceland (friendly country), en route to your final destination. You would only need to show the passport in Reykjavik.
If your daughter leaves on a correct passport, like I did, she runs the risk of having her passport revoked while she is abroad. That would render her stateless.
So, keep the passport with her deadname, but all her other legal documents are her legal name....travel with the deadname passport and (old birth cert?) - now we just have to come up with money for a sudden departure. We are not a family of means.
My adult child changed her name and corrected her gender on her passport a few years ago. If they go ahead and revoke existing passports, then we’re stuck here, right? What’s everyone’s feeling about the likelihood of that happening?
It sounds like Trump is grossly misusing the “shadow docket” to push his own nefarious agenda. Eventually, he probably hopes to ban all of us from traveling, keeping us stuck in the U.S. indefinitely, so that we are easier to control. Perhaps modeling after North Korea. Donald definitely is a huge fan and longtime admirer of Kim Jong Un. Attacking trans people’s travel rights is likely the beginning for him, not the end. Regardless, cisgender people MUST look out for our trans family members, friends, students, etc. banding together, we will be strong against this disgusting tyranny!
We truly need to connect to one another country wide. How can we do this? How can we form a group of allies across the country; Hold hands across states? This news letter helps, but I need more; I think we all do!
Susan, that’s an excellent idea, and excellent imagery - holding hands across the nation to help people get somewhere safe - whether that’s setting up driving connections, offering up couches to sleep on along the way, a hot meal, or just a friendly face. I’m up for helping to organize this, if someone has ideas, or if a group has already formed, I’d love to hear about it and help.
I fully expect that just banning accurate descriptions on our passports won’t be enough for them soon. I expect that existing corrected passports will be canceled soon under the argument that they also interfere with the Executives ability to communicate with foreign governments. Yes, that is how the regime is arguing for the right to deny placing our gender identity on passports.
We potential Nihilistic Violent Extremists shouldn’t be allowed to travel to foreign countries without their government being alerted to our presence at the booth of some poor Passport Control officer trying to match the appearance of someone standing before them with that little M or F on the passport.
I think it worth pointing out that WRT any database of list of those who transitioned, the passport is of one but many areas they can check. If you applied for a Known Traveler Number (KTN), if you applied to purchase a firearm, even if you are getting your Real ID on your state drivers license... these are all pressure points that can be used to cause significant harm to the trans community.
While I applied for my passport many years ago, I applied last year for my KTN to expedite the boarding process when I fly. I also updated my license to Real ID within the last several years. So am I "less safe"? I don't think any of us knows just how deep DOGE has exposed our data.
Maybe that's the point though. If we live in fear of just "living", then they *win*. We've already seen how pre-compliance has worked out for law firms, universities, etc. The best way to fight back is to live your best life, whatever that looks like to you.
Unfortunately, I fully expect that SCOTUS will grant the administration’s wish in this case. It is grossly cruel and unfair, and overrules multiple court precedents. But they have given the administration virtually everything else it wants lately, and there is no reason to think this time will be different.
The main question now will be what happens, and on what timescale, to passports that were issued under the injunction and attestation form - and then what happens to all the existing valid passports that were issued under prior administrations.
You summed it up perfectly. It is highly unlikely that SCOTUS will go against the administration in this case. As you said, the questions are how or if they address recent passports issued with attestations and all other passports issued with gender other than assigned at birth. At least we will know shortly where this stands so everyone can plan accordingly.
Exactly. It’s a means of control. Why is there gender on my driver’s license? Why is there gender on birth certificates? oh sorry, I forgot: different laws for different genders! And “race” (a fictitious concept)…why is “race” on…. *Look out for “skin color,” “sexual orientation” and “church you attend” coming to your driver’s license and your voting ballot soon!
I just think it’s a relic of outdated identification metrics, but having “Sex” on ID cards don’t make any sense to me and is just more fodder for culture wars.
"Self inflicted." This is why I hate the whole concept of "gender identity". It makes it seem like being trans is whimsical, like we ordered our gender online after perusing options on Amazon. I didn't "self identify" as being trans, I AM TRANS. "Transgender" reflects my experience of being, my dispositions, orientations, and relationships with society, the world, and my body.
I appreciate your comment. As an ally I am actively educating myself. Your comment raised my awareness. Thank you.
Very sweet of you to say Shirley, thanks so much!
This post addresses this issue, and I hope it can help. (I do my best to write succinctly yet clearly for a general audience; some of my other posts there may be of interest also.)
https://jaynasheats.substack.com/p/language-is-important-even-in-the
Very pertinent article. I highly recommend. Thank you for sharing Jayna!
I second Yasha, Jayna. A very well stated article that I also recommend. Thank you.
Thank you!
Yeah, I don't have a male "gender identity". I don't have a gender identity at all. I'm neurologically male and therefore biologically male.
I’m waiting for the courts to fully realize that gender identity comes from our brains, not our crotches. Apparently that’s a big leap for many folks, but hey, we once believed fire was a God. There’s hope.
Thank you! I am a trans women and I never liked the term "gender Identity". I think it would be more accurte just to say gender. There is some history to sex and gender being used synoymously. We don't need to words to refer to the same thing. I think dropped the word "identity" makes it sound less like a life style choice and more like the reality of existance that it is to us.
Yes! Which is why I hate the inappropriate term "transgenderED." That implies that trans people weren't born that way.
💕
🫶
Who the fuck came up with that gender identity bullshit . Sex change should have stayed and frankly if it hadn’t become such that everybody was experimenting with pronouns we may not be where we are . We should have kept things as they were in the 90s
I hate this fucking timeline.
The prejudice and hateful maliciousness of policy of this administration distinctly billboards and reflects the magnitude of contempt and viscous disregard they have for ALL Americans, not just trans people. We’re currently the only group of citizens they feel they can get away with doing this to, but as trump’s approval ratings continue to tank, they’ll keep moving the Overton window of the hateful Heritage Foundation further right, especially if the corrupt SCOTUS decides to rule in the government’s favor. Transgender people are American citizens. Any attack on trans people, black people, women, immigrants, disabled people, etc. with regard to civil rights is an attack on ALL Americans civil rights.
Well said!!! 🫶
I certainly can’t express how much I hate that the SCOTUS will determine this. They can’t be trusted.
It’s pretty routine at this point. This admin files and they rubber stamp.
And we all know the supreme court could care less about the constitution. I am terrified, but I'm stuck here.
My Mom doesn't seem to get how bad it is right now. She just says "live your life", but it's pretty difficult when we know people who just live their life are getting snatched from their job based off the color of their skin.
Is there anything I can do? I don't like being helpless.
First, nothing anyone can say will be *really* helpful, in the way we'd like. It is indeed horrible, and that is what it is. Just as if one lived in eastern Ukraine (or Gaza).
But we also do have to combat that sense of helplessness; even if the power is small, our mental health demands a plan. This is what I wrote just a few days ago; I intend to follow with some further thoughts of an actionable sort. It's grim. But it's action.
https://jaynasheats.substack.com/p/resistance-is-not-futile
Terrifying. Does anyone know whether they have retained records for passports changed during the Biden years? As in, do they have a way to know which passports to revoke beyond the ones being changed during this period? Trying to determine if this is the sign to GTFO now or if I’m over-reacting. I had my passport updated two years ago, new name and gender.
As far as I know, social security changes are all logged permanently so if you changed your sex marker/name on social security they can definitely use that information to determine who they need to revoke a passport from.
This is hypothetical but I believe this is a big part of their reasoning to get DOGE access to SSN info in addition to creating the Palantir "master database" on all citizens. They have a list of all people who have transitioned legally and I believe it's their full intent to use that list to harm us.
This is no bueno.
The DOS website states:
We have passport records from March 1925 to the present. The Privacy Act of 1974 protects records. Records may include:
Passport Applications
Consular Report of Birth
Consular Report of Death
Certificate of Witness to Marriage
Certificate of Loss of Nationality
Passport records do not include evidence of travel such as entrance or exit stamps, visas, or residence permits.
To answer simply - yes, State has access to all of your passport applications. A simple query in the database will pull up all of your prior applications and supporting documents.
The Privacy Act *used* to protect such records and restrict them to "need to know" and legal actions. Since DOGE and DJ, the federal government has no further need for legality. ( 😒 )
I was wondering the same thing.
I'm interested to know this too
Trump and MAGA are relentlessly malevolent in their efforts to scrub the trans community from society.
Just how quickly could this happen? We are planning to take care of my child's passport this week, friday.....could this happen before then?
I'm anticipating early October.
Also Erin, the attestation form, makes me nervous. Though I know we have to submit that too. This all seems like a way to create a "list" of our beautiful comunity....and it be used for nafariuos reasons in the future. We are in MA, and I feel my child is "safe" but....there is an inderlying anxiety in me.....
I’m in MA also and share your feelings.
I have some practical concerns.
1. If a passport with a F gender marker is revoked, will we be able to get a revised passport with an M gender marker?
2. If we are able to get a revised passport with an M gender marker, will that actually be accepted as a valid re-entry document after travel abroad given that our other official documentation has an F gender marker?
If the answer to either 1 or 2 above is "No", that effectively amounts to a travel ban.
Not great for those of us with close family in other countries who may be nearing end of life.
1) During the original ban it was just new passports and renewals at risk. I expect the same thing here. So if you have a passport you should be safe until it needs to renew.
I wish there was something more positive to say. But what I wrote in April, after the state kidnapping and rendition of Abrego Garcia, remains valid.
https://jaynasheats.substack.com/p/its-past-midnight-what-should-transgender
OK. So, we could go this friday. Get it all set, sent in via right there at the post office and be OK?
Maybe. It depends on what they do with changed passports if SCOTUS grants their stay.
Is it even safe to go ahead and change a passport then? My child could in theory travel/leave the country on her passport with deadname?
Honestly, I wouldn't. I assume you would be fleeing to somewhere like Spain and not Saudi Arabia. Trust me that the western world (maybe aside from the UK) is very sympathetic to the plight of trans people right now. I don't think your daughter's deadname passport would be risky for entering a friendly country. Of course bring along any documentation that corroborates the name change (court order).
If Europe is your destination, I would suggest hopping from JFK (friendly airport) to Iceland (friendly country), en route to your final destination. You would only need to show the passport in Reykjavik.
If your daughter leaves on a correct passport, like I did, she runs the risk of having her passport revoked while she is abroad. That would render her stateless.
So, keep the passport with her deadname, but all her other legal documents are her legal name....travel with the deadname passport and (old birth cert?) - now we just have to come up with money for a sudden departure. We are not a family of means.
My adult child changed her name and corrected her gender on her passport a few years ago. If they go ahead and revoke existing passports, then we’re stuck here, right? What’s everyone’s feeling about the likelihood of that happening?
Pay for expedited
It sounds like Trump is grossly misusing the “shadow docket” to push his own nefarious agenda. Eventually, he probably hopes to ban all of us from traveling, keeping us stuck in the U.S. indefinitely, so that we are easier to control. Perhaps modeling after North Korea. Donald definitely is a huge fan and longtime admirer of Kim Jong Un. Attacking trans people’s travel rights is likely the beginning for him, not the end. Regardless, cisgender people MUST look out for our trans family members, friends, students, etc. banding together, we will be strong against this disgusting tyranny!
We truly need to connect to one another country wide. How can we do this? How can we form a group of allies across the country; Hold hands across states? This news letter helps, but I need more; I think we all do!
Susan, that’s an excellent idea, and excellent imagery - holding hands across the nation to help people get somewhere safe - whether that’s setting up driving connections, offering up couches to sleep on along the way, a hot meal, or just a friendly face. I’m up for helping to organize this, if someone has ideas, or if a group has already formed, I’d love to hear about it and help.
- Mom to an amazing trans college kid
I fully expect that just banning accurate descriptions on our passports won’t be enough for them soon. I expect that existing corrected passports will be canceled soon under the argument that they also interfere with the Executives ability to communicate with foreign governments. Yes, that is how the regime is arguing for the right to deny placing our gender identity on passports.
We potential Nihilistic Violent Extremists shouldn’t be allowed to travel to foreign countries without their government being alerted to our presence at the booth of some poor Passport Control officer trying to match the appearance of someone standing before them with that little M or F on the passport.
I think it worth pointing out that WRT any database of list of those who transitioned, the passport is of one but many areas they can check. If you applied for a Known Traveler Number (KTN), if you applied to purchase a firearm, even if you are getting your Real ID on your state drivers license... these are all pressure points that can be used to cause significant harm to the trans community.
While I applied for my passport many years ago, I applied last year for my KTN to expedite the boarding process when I fly. I also updated my license to Real ID within the last several years. So am I "less safe"? I don't think any of us knows just how deep DOGE has exposed our data.
Maybe that's the point though. If we live in fear of just "living", then they *win*. We've already seen how pre-compliance has worked out for law firms, universities, etc. The best way to fight back is to live your best life, whatever that looks like to you.
Live Más!
Yes, I love this! "Live your best life"
thanks for that!
Unfortunately, I fully expect that SCOTUS will grant the administration’s wish in this case. It is grossly cruel and unfair, and overrules multiple court precedents. But they have given the administration virtually everything else it wants lately, and there is no reason to think this time will be different.
The main question now will be what happens, and on what timescale, to passports that were issued under the injunction and attestation form - and then what happens to all the existing valid passports that were issued under prior administrations.
You summed it up perfectly. It is highly unlikely that SCOTUS will go against the administration in this case. As you said, the questions are how or if they address recent passports issued with attestations and all other passports issued with gender other than assigned at birth. At least we will know shortly where this stands so everyone can plan accordingly.
Unfortunately I’m not hopeful this Supreme Court will uphold the lower courts decision
This court is filled with homophobes that has shown that they will not protect LQBTQ PEOPLE LET ALONE RULE AGAINST TRUMP
I liked this in appreciation for your work, Erin, but I don’t like what it’s about at all. My stomach dropped when I read the headline. 😣😣😣
Thank you. I know you'll keep us informed.
why do we need gender on passports? the last time I flew some check points just had facial recognition and no humans.
Exactly. It’s a means of control. Why is there gender on my driver’s license? Why is there gender on birth certificates? oh sorry, I forgot: different laws for different genders! And “race” (a fictitious concept)…why is “race” on…. *Look out for “skin color,” “sexual orientation” and “church you attend” coming to your driver’s license and your voting ballot soon!
I just think it’s a relic of outdated identification metrics, but having “Sex” on ID cards don’t make any sense to me and is just more fodder for culture wars.