Washington AG Opposes Trump Plan to Restrict Transgender Passports

A Trump administration plan to restrict transgender people from obtaining accurate passports faces backlash from Washington's Attorney General and 11 others.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown joins a coalition of 12 attorneys general submit a comment letter to the U.S. Department of State opposing proposed changes to the passport application process preventing transgender individuals from obtaining a passport matching the gender they identify as.

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"These discriminatory rules would add confusion and costs for taxpayers merely to satisfy the president's fixation on dehumanizing an entire class of people," Brown said.

This stems from a Trump administration executive order signed Jan. 20. It says the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and instructs secretaries of State and Homeland Security to implement changes requiring government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder's sex.

In the comment letter, the coalition explains proposed changes would significantly harm non-binary and transgender people. An example the letter uses is when a person's passport does not align with physical appearance, it could cause confusion, delays, or harassment when they traven within the United States and internationally.

Washington is one of 16 states allowing transgender and non-binary people to correct their state-issued birth certificate to reflect their gender identity.

"If identifying information on state-issued documents does not match information on gederal documents, individuals would likely experience delays when trying to access resources, and states would likely be forced to expend needless resources to review mismatched documents," the Attorney General's Office says.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit opposing the executive order.