Donald Trump’s inaugural speech seemed to be an opening salvo of war against the trans and non-binary communities, who are gearing up for legal attacks on their passports and driver's licenses, and the potential for widespread discrimination.
It was a chilling moment for any trans or nonbinary person who heard Donald Trump’s inauguration speech Monday when, as NBC Bay Area reports, Trump declared that "as of today, it'll be the official policy that there are two genders male and female." This was followed by an anti-trans executive order Monday night that dictates federal agencies classify people only as either male or female on federal government documents. That order says in part “my Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”
This “defend women’s rights” canard is particularly rich from a guy with history of sexual assault rulings against him, a cabinet full of accused abusers, and the legacy-defining conservative Supreme Court appointees who pass the repeal of Roe v Wade. But KRON4 reports that advocates for the trans community see this for what it is, a specific attack on the transgender community.
"It’s a very ominous development for transgender people," SF-based National Center for Lesbian Rights legal director Shannon Minter told KRON4. "Transgender people simply want to be able to live, work, have families, use facilities safely like anyone else, and this appears to be a wholesale attack on the ability of transgender people to exist and function in any meaningful way."
The obvious first target here appears to be passports, though this could also affect eligibility in federal housing programs, or protections from workforce discrimination. Since 2022, non-binary folks have been able to select "X" as gender option for passports — and a State Department webpage about that option has suddenly gone offline.
Driver's licenses, meanwhile, are issued by individual states. But some states are sure to follow Trump’s lead, and states like Californa could see outside pressure to Trump up their permissive gender ID policies.
"If I'm presenting fully feminine as a woman and my ID says male — that could put my whole life at risk,” Fairfield transgender resident Richelle Armijo told NBC Bay Area. “I could get super injured. I could get kidnapped.”
Another SF-based organization Equal Rights Advocates says anti-trans discrimination in the federal government can easily trickle into workplaces and schools.
"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that these kinds of orders will institutionalize discrimination in the workplace," that organization’s executive director Noreen Farrell said to KPIX. "And not just for federal employees or federal contractors. It does provide a green light for other workplaces and schools and students."
Many of these apparent changes are likely to end up in the courts. And some LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations are already gearing up to fight them.
"At this point, these are just words," Equality California managing director of external affairs Tom Temprano pointed out to KPIX. "Donald Trump is not the king. He does not get to dictate what happens in this country from on high. And we'll take all the necessary steps to address it and prevent him from harming LGBTQ+ people once we have more of those details."
Image: WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 04: A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court as the high court hears arguments in a case on transgender health rights on December 04, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in US v. Skrmetti, a case about Tennessee's law banning gender-affirming care for minors and if it violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
