Reports of US Documentation Agents Confiscating Trans Peoples Passports
Source in pic: https://homestead.social/@lily/113878607769958499
Secondary confirmation: https://bsky.app/profile/erinryanhey.bsky.social/post/3lggfjx55vk2w
Anecdotally, I've seen several more reports.
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I'm disappointed that the majority of top level replies to this post is a bunch of people deciding to jump in and question its validity. Yeah, it may not be true. But it also could be true, because bigots feel empowered at the moment and may well act in the way described even if they're not technically "meant" to.
So yes, express caution and don't assume everything you read is true, but conversely don't come in to a queer space, in the middle of an active movement against gender diverse folk, and fill the comment section with denials and second guessing, as if everything is fine and its business as usual, as if people are being unreasonable for being concerned
I'm disappointed that you're so indifferent about the truth. Leaving this misinformation to spread does real damage to trans people, who might now become too afraid to change their gender marker. Even when, as many have pointed out, there was no change of policy and this is mostly handled at the state level.
No one knows the truth here. I don't know whether it happened or not.
But what I do know is that a bunch of people who are not normally in this space suddenly joining in the conversation to tell trans people that they're being unreasonable for worrying about stuff like this is not on. One or two comments, whatever, but when the majority of comments are non regulars telling trans people the world is ok, despite it clearly not being, it's time to step in.
There are many reasons to be frightened. It just doesn't help to add fictional stories (or at best secondhand anecdotes) to that. Resistance against oppression requires accurate information about what happens, not wild speculation about things that "could have happened".
Telling everyone to stop changing their gender registration is wild and would warrant for more evidence than "I heard from a friend". That's terrible advice and you can't just shrug that off by saying you don't know the truth.
The ACLU has said:
All applications for gender marker change are on hold while the State Department changes this policy.
Anyone who now submits an application for a change runs the risk of losing access to their passport and documents while their application is being processed.
There are many reasons to be frightened. It just doesn't help to add fictional stories (or at best secondhand anecdotes) to that.
This is what I mean. You are so sure it's a lie, something that you don't know for sure either, to the extent that you're willing to actively encourage gender diverse people to throw caution to the wind and put their complete faith in a system that was actively working against their interests even before the new president was elected.
Caution is warranted. A bunch of non regular posters to this community seeing this post and deciding to tell trans people that it's all ok, and that they should continue to trust the system, that their caution is unwarranted? If you don't see how being part of that chorus is a problem, then I don't know what to tell you...
There is necessarily a scarcity of info and a period of rumor verification. I find it likely state agents are ignoring the letter of the law to do whatever they want because that is as much a part of fascism as operating within the law.
Add onto that the fact that mainstream social media is entirely at the whim of bad guys and it may be hard to get the truth until suddenly Erin Reed or someone writes about it.
You need to get out of here if this is personally making you panic. We're okay without your help.
Once codified into law, would the recent executive order not invalidate the legal identification of everyone who doesn't have their sex assigned at birth listed?
A [State] department webpage that described how people could change their gender marker was taken offline, and Chase Strangio, an ACLU lawyer, said it’s unlikely that any new application to change the gender marker on a passport will be approved.
I appreciate the question, but this is actually quite different from what is claimed in the screenshot.
The state department will stop changing the gender registration on new passports to "X", at least for now. This doesn't cause anyone to lose their documents. It also doesn't affect anyone changing their registration with the state or local government, which is much more important.