The Biden administration is set to give US citizens a gender-neutral option on passports.
In honor of the last day of Pride Month on June 30, the White House announced the change in legislation, as part of a series of sweeping reforms aimed at promoting sex and gender equality in the United States.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained in an official statement that the move was down to the president's "enduring commitment" to the LGBTQI+ community.
Blinken stated:
"The Department of State is committed to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons.
"Most immediately, we will be updating our procedures to allow applicants to self-select their gender as 'M' or 'F' and will no longer require medical certification if an applicant’s self-selected gender does not match the gender on their other citizenship or identity documents."
Per BBC News, however, Blinken added that adding a third gender option - giving a choice to nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming US citizens - will take time. Despite this, he said that the move is on President Biden's agenda.
The announcement comes a week after transgender teen Ashton Mota met with the president at the White House to speak on the subject of the Equality Act.
This bill aims to ban discrimination of an individual or group based on their sexual orientation and gender identity - and was voted in by the House of Representatives back in February of 2021.
In an emotional speech, Mota stated: "My name is Ashton Mota, I use he/him pronouns, and I'm honored to be here with you all today. I am a 16-year-old Black, Afro-Latino high school student from Lowell, Massachusetts. I also happen to be transgender."
Meanwhile, the president described transgender children as "some of the bravest people in the world", and stressed that "it takes courage to be true to your authentic self and to face discrimination [...] It takes a toll."
Biden also named Jessica Stern as the US Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons - a position that had existed under President Obama's administration, but not during Donald Trump's tenure.
Per the White House, Stern's responsibilities will see her "leading implementation of the Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World."
She will also "bring together like-minded governments, civil society organizations, corporations, and international organizations to uphold dignity and equality for all."