Caitlyn Jenner reached out to Trump over passport gender policy, says 'haven’t heard from him'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Caitlyn Jenner said she wrote to Donald Trump after facing difficulties in changing the gender marker on her passport. She explained that she reached out because her request was not approved through the usual process.
Jenner said an executive order is affecting transgender Americans’ access to identity documents. She also shared that she tried to fix the issue herself by mailing a copy of her updated birth certificate to the authorities, but it did not resolve the problem.
According to BBC News, the Supreme Court of the US has allowed the Trump administration to require that new passports list a person’s sex assigned at birth, based on biological factors (XY and XX chromosomes).
Caitlyn Jenner talks about the passport issue
Jenner, 76, a former Olympic athlete, discussed the issue on a recent episode of the 'Tomi Lahren Is Fearless' podcast. She said, “Today, documentation is extremely important. Every time you turn around, you gotta show ID.”
“So somebody in my position, who has transitioned, I worked very, very hard. I worked with a law firm to make sure everything was changed from ‘M’ to ‘F,’ right down to my birth certificate. All my documentation was right, my passport, my global entry - I traveled around the world,” she continued.
She said her passport recently expired, and a new one mailed to her by the State Department listed her sex as "male." “I did everything,” she said, “and they sent it back, ‘M,’ they didn’t change it.”
“What do I do?” she added. “This is a safety factor.”
Caitlyn Jenner says she reached out to Donald Trump for help
During her conversation with Tomi Lahren, Caitlyn Jenner said she personally contacted President Trump about the passport issue. She mentioned that the two have been on friendly terms, which is why she decided to reach out directly.
“I was in Mar-a-Lago two months ago, (and) wrote a letter explaining all of this to him, how it’s affecting me and a lot of other people,” she said. “Unfortunately, he wasn’t there that weekend. The Secret Service guy said he could get it to him, put it on his desk and stuff,” Jenner added. “I haven't heard from him. He’s kind of busy right now. My gender marker is not big on the issue, OK? So, I get that, and I’m not blaming him whatsoever. I love the guy, and I love what he’s doing.”
Donald Trump’s policy on sex and identity
President Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office. The order states that the United States will recognise only two fixed sexes: male and female.
“Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women,” the order states. “This is wrong.”
According to the White House, the policy is based on the idea that sex is a biological fact. "Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being. The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself."
