The X option will be available in the future, however, another change allows applicants to “self-select” their binary gender.

Secretary of State Anthony Brinken announced on Wednesday that the U.S. State Department is providing Americans who are not male or female with the third gender mark-“X” in the U.S. passport.

Brinken said in a statement that under the new regulations that take effect immediately, passport applicants will be allowed to “choose” their gender “M” or “F” if their choice is inconsistent with other issued documents. No medical certificate is required.

Brinken said this is the first step to allow the third gender marking option-“X”-instead of “M” or “F” to promote “freedom, dignity and equality for all people,” including LGBTQ+ people. .

“The department has started to add gender markers to non-binary, intersex and gender substandards who apply for passports or CRBA (Consular Reports of Birth Abroad),” Blinken went on to explain that the process of adding gender markers is “technically complicated.” , And stated that his department is “evaluating the best way to achieve this goal.”

Today, we are taking important steps to ensure that LGBTQI+ American citizens are treated fairly. https://t.co/tfNnTUQmsp

— Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 30, 2021

Blinken did not say when the new gender markers will be available.

The State Department’s website stated, “We are unable to provide a precise timetable on when to begin providing gender markers for non-binary, intersex and gender non-compliant people.”

Blinken announced the news on the last day of Pride Month, and the LGBTQ+ community is celebrating the news. They believe that traditional men and women choose to discriminate against non-binary and intersex people.

Lambda’s legal counsel Paul Castillo said on Twitter that for his team’s client “Dana Zzyym, a bisexual and non-binary U.S. Navy veteran,” the news was “a long wait.” litigation “Acquired an accurate passport” six years ago.

The news released by the State Department today is a long time for countless LGBTQI+ Americans, including @LambdaLegal Client Dana Zzyym is an intersex and non-binary U.S. Navy veteran who filed a lawsuit in 2015 to obtain an accurate passport. https://t.co/EWMSOzzR0j

— Paul D. Castillo (@PaulCastilloJD) June 30, 2021

The United States will join several other countries, including Canada, Australia, Germany And India provides the “X” option on the passport. The move comes after New York State announced last week that it would provide gender markings on its driver’s license and ID card, adding several other states and places that allow the use of “X” in official documents.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has shifted from his predecessor Donald Trump’s attitude towards LGBTQ+ rights, beginning to assume the presidency in January Reversing Trump’s transgender military ban has resumed the tradition of officially recognizing June as Pride Month. Trump has only admitted once in his four years in office, that is, in 2019.

Last week, Biden mark Pride month at the White House and designated Pulse Nightclub as a national memorial. Forty-nine people were killed in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in 2016.

The Biden administration also appointed the first publicly LGBTQ+ cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.