Last updated on: 4/3/2020 9:00:03 AM PST
Should Federal and State Governments Allow Nonbinary and Transgender People to Choose the Gender That Matches Their Identity (Including a Third Gender Option) for Government Documents?
At least 16 states and DC offer a third gender option on driver's licenses and 10 states allow a third gender option for birth certificates. People are able to choose "X" in addition to female and male.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, benefits to transgender and nonbinary people include "access to public spaces and resources, as well as dramatically reducing the risk they will face violence, discrimination, or harassment."
Opponents of the third gender option say that the change causes confusion, there are only two genders, and everyone should have their birth sex as their identifying gender on all government documents.
Source: Movement Advancement Project, "Identity Document Laws and Policies," lgbtmap.org, Mar. 23, 2020
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"Biden will... [a]ffirm one’s gender marker and expand access to accurate identification documents. Transgender and non-binary people without identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity are often exposed to harassment and violence and denied employment, housing, critical public benefits, and even the right to vote. The Obama-Biden State Department led the way by updating its gender change policies for passports. As President, Biden will build on this action to ensure all transgender individuals have access to identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity. Biden believes every transgender or non-binary person should have the option of changing their gender marker to “M,” “F,” or “X” on government identifications, passports, and other documentation. He will support state and federal efforts to allow for this accurate representation."
Source: Joe Biden, "The Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and around the World," joebiden.com (accessed Mar. 24, 2020)
Pro
"Yes."
Source: Email from Kevin Zeese with the Hawkins campaign, July 2, 2020
Pro
"Gender is not the government’s business and should be removed from documents. As long as these illegitimate licenses are issued, individuals should be permitted to choose the gender or decline to answer."
Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Aug. 26, 2020
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None Found
No position found as of Apr. 3, 2020. [Editor's Note: In a 2018 draft memo from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Trump administration stated, "Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth. The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
Because the final memo did not include this caveat, ProCon.org did not use the statement as Trump's position.
Erica L. Green, Katie Benner, and Robert Pear, "'Transgender' Could Be Definted out of Existence under Trump Administration," nytimes.com, Oct. 21, 2018]
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