Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a Boston federal judge to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s policy that bans the use of the “X” marker for designating sex.
The ACLU is representing seven transgender, nonbinary and intersex people who have been unable to change the sex designations on their passports. They argued the case in a hearing Tuesday morning in Boston federal court.
“Trans, nonbinary, intersex people, like cisgender people, have the right to have their identity accurately reflected on their documents,” said Olivia Santoro with the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Trump signed the executive order on his first day in office, and the State Department quickly followed suit.
Ash Lazarus OrrPhoto: Mike Macklin/WBZ NewsRadio
Ash Lazarus Orr is a transgender man and one of seven plaintiffs in the case. "After the hearing, I'm feeling hopeful that this is about retaining bodily autonomy and freedom for trans people across America," he said.
"Having the government question who we are as trans people is concerning," Orr added. "We are everyday people. We are your friends. We are your neighbors. We simply want the same freedoms everybody else has."
The agency stopped issuing travel documents with “X” markers and stopped allowing people to change gender markers on their passport or get a new passport that accurately reflects their gender identity.
“It’s important for travel, these are passports we’re talking about and so our clients need them to move around within and outside of the country, just like cisgender Americans and other folks,” Santoro said.
The plaintiffs staged a march to the federal courthouse before the hearing on Tuesday.
WBZ's Mike Macklin (@WBZMikeMacklin) reports.