This new response option would be groundbreaking! Public health and social science researchers currently can’t measure the impact that health inequities, housing insecurity, hate crimes, food insecurity, and employment discrimination has on LGBTQ+ people because of lack of data. If they had this they could adapt programs/policies so that they’re more accessible for underserved populations.

New York Times:
‘Passports, social security cards, residence permits and other federal identification documents may soon offer a third gender option: X.

Already, at least a dozen states and Washington, D.C., have amended their laws to offer an X gender designation on some identifying documents, including driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

But federal rules have not changed much since 2010, when the current policy for changing one’s sex marker on a passport was implemented. That application has always required medical certification and is only available for those who have transitioned from one gender to another; the State Department, which issues passports, asks applicants to select either male or female.

President Biden has promised to change that, and the American Civil Liberties Union is pushing him to take action soon.

“We want to make sure that there’s a consistent, streamlined and practical modernization in gender markers,” said Arli Christian, a campaign strategist at the A.C.L.U. who is leading the push.

So far, the WH has not announced any actions. (In a statement to The 19th, Matt Hill, a White House spokesperson, said that President Biden remains committed to issuing nonbinary IDs and “advancing state and federal efforts that allow transgender and nonbinary Americans to update their identification documents to accurately reflect their gender identity.”)

A petition that the ACLU started, which calls for executive action, has more than 50k signatures. ACLU plans to share the petition with the White House on March 31, the International Transgender Day of Visibility.’

Citation: nytimes.com/2021/02/24/style/gender-neutral-x-passport-ids.amp.html

Petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/they-people-access-accurate-ids-now