The State Department has issued its first passport with an “X” designation for the passport holder’s gender. The recipient: “Dana Zzyym”, an intersex activist from Colorado.
It’s part of a new policy that allows anyone to change the gender on their passport with no medical certification required. The three choices: male, female or “X.” The “X” designation is designed for people who identify as transgender or intersex–those born with both male and female characteristics.
The State Department emphasizes that passport holders can self-select their gender as part of its overall goal to promote human rights for people who identify as LGBTQI+.
The historic move shows the full force of the transgender movement. “Irreversible Damage” author Abigail Shrier calls it “one of the clearest indications that gender ideology has infiltrated the highest levels of the federal government.”
The State Department plans to push other governments to offer new gender options, a move that transgender activists applaud.
“I am hoping that this will as soon as possible become routine,” said Maria Sjodin, executive director of OutRight Action International, “so that anyone who wants can just access an X in their passport in the US and around the world.”
The change is a challenge for many who hold biblical beliefs about gender and sexuality.
David Kubal, president of Intercessors for America, opposes the policy. “They’re putting the stamp of human rights on people’s thoughts on what is moral and it’s actually immoral,” he said.
At the same time, Republican-led states are pushing back against transgender activism.
This week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring public school athletes to compete based on their biological sex. The new law follows the lead of similar legislation in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Montana, and Mississippi.
New research is also raising questions about transgender medicine.
Dr. Lisa Littman has a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, showing that the majority of those who have de-transitioned, that is, reversed their initial decision to change their gender identity, say they did not receive an adequate evaluation from a medical care provider before they initially transitioned.
Speaking on the Megyn Kelly Show she said it’s heartbreaking what’s happened to some of these patients. “These young people didn’t get the evaluation, the support, the kind of mental health services that they needed and instead were really rushed to medical transition and surgery,” she said.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Franklin Graham condemned the decision by the Biden administration to add a third gender to passports, urging that “Gender X is not only nonsense, it is going against God.”
“The U.S. State Department has issued its first passport with X for gender, rather than M for Male and F for Female. They plan to issue more such passports in the months to come, with no requirement for any medical certification of a person’s gender. I hope countries will reject recognizing this passport and refuse the person carrying it into their country.”
“The State Department is wrong. This is not truth or science. We only have two genders: Male and Female. Gender X is not only nonsense, it is going against God who ‘created man in his own image … male and female he created them’ (Gen. 1:27).”
“The State Department is turning the American passport into a farce, not to mention flaunting God. Pray that those running our government will come to their senses, or be voted out of office.”
Graham responded back in July when the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, first announced that “gender X” was going to be an option on US Passports, calling the move a “war on common sense.”
“It is so disappointing that our government would fall for this kind of absurdity,” Graham wrote on Facebook. “This administration seems to have declared war on common sense, and they want you, me, and everyone else to believe and go along with a lie.“
“It is very sad and concerning,” he lamented. “And it is another reminder of the desperate need for Christians to PRAY for our nation and all those in positions of leadership—whether we agree with them or not. We need God’s mercy and help.”
