A US court has blocked a ban on trans people legally changing gender on their passports.
District judge Julia Kobick issued a partial preliminary injunction on an executive order signed by president Donald Trump that aimed to prevent transgender men and women changing the gender marker on the documents.
The president signed the directive in January but it was opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Kobick issued her ruling on Saturday (19 April).
The government hadn’t sufficiently explained how the executive order and subsequent policies “related to an important government interest”, she decided.
“The executive order and the passport policy, on their face, classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote in her ruling. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”
The plaintiffs had, however, successfully proved that the order was issued “on irrational prejudice towards transgender Americans,” and, as a result, were a breach of the constitution’s “commitment to equal protection for all Americans”, the judge went on to say.
“In addition, the plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on their claim that the passport policy is arbitrary and capricious, and that it was not adopted in compliance with the procedures required by the Paperwork Reduction Act and Administrative Procedure Act.”
‘Trump’s policy threatened my life of safety and ease’
The ACLU brought the case on behalf of seven individuals who had received inaccurate passports because of the State Department policy.
After the legal complaint was filed in February, one of the plaintiffs, Massachusetts-based trans man Reid Solomon-Lane, said he feared being outed every time he travelled or was required to use his passport.
“I thought that 18 years after transitioning, I would be able to live my life in safety and ease,” he said. “Now, as a married father-of-three, Trump’s executive order and the ensuing passport policy have threatened that life of safety and ease.”
The legal director of ACLU Massachusetts, Jessie Rossman, said the ruling “affirms the inherent dignity of our clients” and had acknowledged the “profound negative impact” the executive order had had.
“By forcing people to carry documents that directly contradict their identities, the Trump administration is attacking the very foundations of our right to privacy and the freedom to be ourselves. We will continue to fight to rescind this unlawful policy for everyone so no one is placed in this untenable and unsafe position.”
The ruling comes after two district judges put a stop on an executive order and subsequent policies that aimed to prevent transgender men and women serving in the military.
In early March, Ana Reyes blocked the policies on the basis of upholding “equal protection rights that the military defends every day.” Benjamin Settle then issued a similar injunction, saying the government’s arguments were “not persuasive“.
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