'Another Gender Added Besides Male and Female?' US Bill Proposed to Include X Gender on Passports
US Justice Department Calls for X Marker for Gender Identities Beyond Male and Female
State Department Opposes Citing Cost and Time Concerns
Related Law to Be Amended, but Actual Revision Likely Low
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A bill to introduce the gender marker X on U.S. passports is expected to be proposed. This aims to reflect the identities of those who do not identify as male or female.
On the 24th (local time), according to The Washington Post (WP), U.S. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna plans to introduce a bill to add the gender marker X on passports.
Passports allowing the gender identity to be marked as X have already been introduced in countries such as the Netherlands, Australia, and Canada. However, there is no such option on U.S. passports.
Relatedly, five years ago, an individual named Dana Zzyym filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State regarding the issue of expressing their gender identity as X for those who do not belong to either male or female categories, and won the case. This person argued that limiting gender markers to male or female infringes on rights granted by the Constitution.
Since then, 15 U.S. states and Washington D.C. have issued identification cards for those who do not identify as male or female. Airlines have also introduced reservation options for individuals who are neither male nor female. However, the U.S. Department of State has appealed this and is not complying with the court's ruling.
Representative Khanna has prepared a legislative amendment to resolve this legislative dilemma.
However, it is uncertain whether this law can actually change the gender classification system on U.S. passports. The Democratic Party, to which Representative Khanna belongs, holds the majority in the House of Representatives, but the Republican Party holds the majority in the Senate. Furthermore, former U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed opposition to this bill.
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For now, the U.S. Department of State claims that revising the existing gender classification system would require two years and cost $11 million (approximately 13.3 billion KRW).
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