President Joe Biden is marking Transgender Visibility Day 2022 with a series of new actions aimed at providing more resources to the transgender and LGBTQI+ communities
The Biden administration on Thursday announced a series of new measures to support transgender and LGBTQI+ Americans amid what the White House has described as “dangerous anti-transgender legislative attacks” in the president’s recent battle with Republican-led states .
“The evidence is clear that these types of bills stigmatize and degrade the well-being and mental health of transgender children, and they put loving and supportive families across the country at risk of discrimination and harassment,” the White House said in one leaflet .
The new measures include the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to make airport security checkpoints more gender-neutral and a host of new educational resources on gender-affirming child and youth care after several Republican governors restricted access to such information.
The State Department will also introduce an option for people to select “X” as the gender in their passports, starting April 11.
To help, the White House said in a leaflet the government is working “closely with airlines” in the US to “encourage the use and acceptance” of the “X” passport option.
United Airlines and American Airlines already allow passengers to select “X” as their gender. A third airline will introduce it this fall, the White House said.
The Transportation Security Administration will overhaul the “current, gender-sensitive system” with “more accurate technology” to screen travelers later this year to “improve the customer experience of transgender travelers who previously required additional screening due to alerts in sensitive areas.” had to be subjected.’
The TSA is also updating its guidelines to eliminate “gender considerations” at airport security checkpoints.
Beginning April 11, US citizens will be able to select an X as a gender identifier on their US passport application (pictured), and the option will be available for other forms of documentation next year
“Every American deserves the freedom to be himself. But far too many transgender Americans still face systemic barriers, discrimination, and acts of violence,” the Biden administration said.
“Today, the government once again condemns the increase in dangerous legislative attacks against transgender people that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures across the country.”
The White House is also launching a new website with resources for LGBTQI+ children and their parents, to bypass states that have “removed critical information about mental health resources for LGBTQI+ youth from official state websites.”
“Transgender youth often face significant barriers to accessing supportive resources and are at greater risk of attempting suicide,” the White House said. “These resources include best practices for affirming an LGBTQI+ child and information about suicide prevention services.”
It comes after the Texas Department of Health and Human Services reportedly removed suicide prevention pages for LGBTQI+ youth from the state’s website earlier this year.
According to the Advocate, the Florida Department of Education removed “LGBTQ-inclusive anti-bullying resources” from its websites in December.
Biden recently clashed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the parental rights in education bill, which critics have dubbed “don’t say gay.”
The law prohibits kindergarten through third grade educators from discussing “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in class
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office told , “There is simply no justification for the Biden administration’s DOE officially endorsing policy guidelines directing school staff to keep secrets about children from their parents.” .”
Also on Thursday, the White House announced that it has directed the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, an office of the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), to release new information to medical providers “certifying that the provision of gender-affirming care is neither child abuse nor malpractice.’
It’s also making sure parents, students and teachers get resources on gender-affirming care through a new HHS webpage after Arizona announced it will ban underage medical treatment on Wednesday.
Similar bills are working their way through the state governments of Alabama and Texas.
Conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation, particularly in the classroom, have become a flashpoint for Republicans.
The Idaho legislature passed the first ban on sports participation for transgender youth in 2020, though it was blocked in court.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem enacted the first ban on transgender participation in youth sports of the year last month, followed by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday
GOP governors such as South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Florida’s DeSantis have led charges for restricting trans youth from school sports, claiming transgender women have an unfair advantage over biological women.
Fourteen states have so far banned transgender students from playing sports that conform to their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Noem signed an executive order in March 2021 restricting women’s participation in school sports to those assigned as female at birth.
Last month, she signed a similar law into law, making South Dakota the first state to pass such a ban in 2022.
DeSantis has come under fire from LGBTQI+ activists and Democrats for signing legislation banning teachers and other school staff in kindergarten through third grade from discussing “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in the classroom.
Teachers can be sued by parents for breaking the new law, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
President Joe Biden earlier this year condemned the law as “hateful.” It comes into force on July 1st.
And on Wednesday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey became the youngest Republican governor to sign legislation restricting trans youth’s participation in sports in addition to banning gender-affirming surgery on minors.
Biden released a statement on the eve of Transgender Visibility Day on the same day, which also aimed for states to limit access to resources for transgender youth.
“Over the past year, hundreds of anti-transgender laws have been proposed in states across America, most of which target transgender children. The rush has continued this year. These bills are wrong,” said the President.
“Efforts to criminalize supportive health care for transgender children, ban transgender children from sports, and ban discussion of LGBTQI+ people in schools undermine their humanity and corrode our nation’s values.”