Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt order letting transgender people choose passport sex marker

The court order allows transgender or nonbinary people to request a male, female or “X” identification marker.

The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to halt a judge’s order allowing transgender and nonbinary people to choose the sex marker on their passports.

The order came after a lawsuit challenging an executive order from President Donald Trump that required people choose “male” or “female” based on the designations on their birth certificate. (File/REUTERS)

The court order allows transgender or nonbinary people to request a male, female or “X” identification marker rather than being limited to the marker that matches the gender on their birth certificate.

The Justice Department argues the government can’t be required to use sex designations that it considers inaccurate on official documents.

The order came after a lawsuit challenging an executive order from President Donald Trump that required people choose “male” or “female” based on the designations on their birth certificate.

The plaintiffs said some transgender people had seen their applications returned with changed designations, and others were afraid to submit applications.

The transgender actress Hunter Schafer said in February that her new passport had been issued with a male gender marker, even though she'd had female gender markers on her license and passport since she was a teenager.