REMINDER: To mark Transgender Day of Visibility in North Texas, Reconciling Ministries Network board member Pamela Curry will screen the 2005 documentary Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria, tonight at Northaven Church, 11211 Preston Road, Room 240, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free but
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President Joe Biden
The same day that the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter “reminding” state officials — including Texas’ infamously transphobic governor and attorney general — President Joe Biden issued a proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility and the White House released a new fact sheet laying out dozens of actions the administration is taking across the executive branch to help trans people.
The list includes the fact that the Department of State will start issuing passports with gender markers starting April 11. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, no medical documentation will be required and the X gender marker will be officially defined as “unspecified or another gender identity.”
In addition, the Department of Homeland Security is implementing new measures to make airport security screenings better for trans people, including the current, gender-based AIT system with new, more accurate technology in airports across the country later this year.
The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new website for the mental health of trans youth, and — in one of the biggest policy changes announced today — as of this fall, the Social Security Administration will no longer require trans people to show a doctor’s note in order to update gender information in their records. This will make it easier for trans people to access retirement benefits and apply for jobs.
Biden’s administration will also begin pushing for trans and LGB inclusion in certain studies, for expanding the use of the X gender marker by other federal agencies and for training for schools and employers on trans inclusion.
Get the complete fact sheet on the White House website.
