Orr was told his documents, including his previous passport, his birth certificate, and his marriage license, had been “set aside” indefinitely, as the State Department works to formulate its new policies around the Trump order.
West Virginia-based trans activist Ash Lazarus Orr told The 19th they applied to update the name and gender marker on their passport a few days before Trump was sworn in, as they observed growing anti-trans sentiment in their state and endured death threats and an attack inside a men’s bathroom.
The Trump administration may be seeking to roll protections back, but the efforts of people like Zzyym mean there’s now a federal court record recognizing that intersex can’t be ignored within the law.
In October 2021, Dana Zzyym became the first person to receive a passport with an “X” marked in the sex field, instead of male or female.
Zzyym, a Navy veteran who is nonbinary and intersex, spent six years battling the State Department in court to get a set of accurate travel documents.
