Overview
- The court granted a 6-3 emergency stay that permits the State Department to require passport sex markers to reflect sex assigned at birth, with Justices Jackson, Sotomayor and Kagan dissenting.
- The policy ends self-selection of markers and removes the 'X' option introduced in 2021 under the Biden administration for nonbinary applicants.
- The order lifts a nationwide injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick, which the 1st Circuit had left in place pending appeal.
- The administration told the justices that passports are government communications tied to presidential foreign-affairs authority and that private citizens cannot compel 'inaccurate' sex designations.
- Plaintiffs including Ashton Orr, represented by the ACLU, argue the rule violates equal protection and the APA and exposes transgender, nonbinary and intersex travelers to misidentification, harassment and safety risks as the case continues in lower courts.