With President Donald Trump’s administration starting to carry out its official policies, numerous advocates recognize such government to have an ill attitude towards the LGBT community. Although the White House has already stated that it does not plan to tear down the current policies that protect the LGBT rights, many have come to fear that they will experience more difficulties in securing documents that affirm their gender, both at the state and federal level.
Such concerns about the rights of the LGBT community have brought on a nationwide attempt to ease the process of gender-affirming documentation, such as through pop-up clinics as well as online workshops and campaigns. Law firms and advocacy organizations have come up with events across the country, as pointed out by the Transgender Law Center. This center is just one of the many support organizations that have published guides and carried out seminars online in an attempt to provide aid for LGBT community members needing information.
Community organizer Toni-Michelle Williams, who works with the Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative in Georgia, stated the importance of documentation when it comes to affirming the gender of LGBT community members. "That simple change in documentation where your name and gender matches your appearance can change your world," Williams said, adding: "It can change your interactions with police and the people you meet in everyday life. It makes all the difference."
Majority of the states permit members of the LGBT community to alter their gender on their state identification card and their driver’s license once an official letter from a legit health care provider is shown. However, 21 states stand by their decision to require a court order, a proof of physical surgery, or even both, for transgender people to change their gender on documents, as reported by the National Center for Transgender Equality.
When it comes to the standards for passports, the Obama administration passed a policy in 2010 through which LGBT community members can alter their gender on the passport. A letter from a physician will be given to the State Department, stating that the individual has obtained or is currently receiving “appropriate clinical treatment.” Such treatment is determined by both the patient and the physician.
Supporters of the LGBT rights praised the policy, and majority of the states made adjustments to their regulations. However, the LGBT community presently fear that Obama’s passport policy could be put to an end with Trump’s new administration.
Nonetheless, LGBT advocacy groups continue to offer financial support and logistical aid for transgender people who prefer to alter their gender on passports, licenses and state IDs, as reported by CNN. For instance, the Trans Relief Project has released donations worth $44,000 to provide assistance to 256 individuals in need of updates for their documentation.
