Americans who do not identify as male or female may soon have a new box to check when applying for their passports.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced a bill on Monday that would order the State Department to create a third gender option on passports. The Gender Inclusive Passport Act would add a new option that would be a gender-neutral designation available on passports, passport cards, and for “other purposes.”
Passports were long denied by the State Department if the applicant refused to select the male or female option on the application. In 2015, Dana Zzyym, a nonbinary individual, placed the letter “x” on the passport application rather than selecting male or female. The application was denied, and Zzymm sued the State Department for discrimination. A lower court ruled in Zzymm’s favor in 2018, but the State Department appealed the ruling. The issue remains unsettled as it awaits review from the higher courts. Zzymm still has not received a passport with the nonbinary designation.
“Respecting every American’s gender must extend to travel abroad,” Khanna said in a statement about his bill. “The freedom to move and express yourself no matter what should be guaranteed in this country. … Everyone in this country should have the freedom to express their preferred gender on passports.”
Fifteen states and Washington, D.C. offer more than two gender options on their local identification cards. Several other countries offer a third gender option on their passports, including Canada, Denmark, and Germany.
The State Department, while arguing against Zzyym, claimed changing the gender classifications for passports would require an overhaul to the processing system that could cost the department $11 million.
