Source in pic: https://homestead.social/@lily/113878607769958499

Secondary confirmation: https://bsky.app/profile/erinryanhey.bsky.social/post/3lggfjx55vk2w

Anecdotally, I’ve seen several more reports.

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Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneM
96 points
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I’m disappointed that the majority of top level replies to this post is a bunch of people deciding to jump in and question its validity. Yeah, it may not be true. But it also could be true, because bigots feel empowered at the moment and may well act in the way described even if they’re not technically “meant” to.

So yes, express caution and don’t assume everything you read is true, but conversely don’t come in to a queer space, in the middle of an active movement against gender diverse folk, and fill the comment section with denials and second guessing, as if everything is fine and its business as usual, as if people are being unreasonable for being concerned

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23 points

I’m disappointed that you’re so indifferent about the truth. Leaving this misinformation to spread does real damage to trans people, who might now become too afraid to change their gender marker. Even when, as many have pointed out, there was no change of policy and this is mostly handled at the state level.

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32 points

No one knows the truth here. I don’t know whether it happened or not.

But what I do know is that a bunch of people who are not normally in this space suddenly joining in the conversation to tell trans people that they’re being unreasonable for worrying about stuff like this is not on. One or two comments, whatever, but when the majority of comments are non regulars telling trans people the world is ok, despite it clearly not being, it’s time to step in.

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9 points

There are many reasons to be frightened. It just doesn’t help to add fictional stories (or at best secondhand anecdotes) to that. Resistance against oppression requires accurate information about what happens, not wild speculation about things that “could have happened”.

Telling everyone to stop changing their gender registration is wild and would warrant for more evidence than “I heard from a friend”. That’s terrible advice and you can’t just shrug that off by saying you don’t know the truth.

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5 points

Once codified into law, would the recent executive order not invalidate the legal identification of everyone who doesn’t have their sex assigned at birth listed?

A [State] department webpage that described how people could change their gender marker was taken offline, and Chase Strangio, an ACLU lawyer, said it’s unlikely that any new application to change the gender marker on a passport will be approved.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-passports-prisons-eggs-sperm-da1d1d280658a8c85c57cfec2f30cefb

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2 points

I appreciate the question, but this is actually quite different from what is claimed in the screenshot.

The state department will stop changing the gender registration on new passports to “X”, at least for now. This doesn’t cause anyone to lose their documents. It also doesn’t affect anyone changing their registration with the state or local government, which is much more important.

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7 points
Removed by mod
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98 points

This isn’t true, at least not entirely. I work at an office that accepts passport applications and we haven’t received any communication regarding gender markers from the new administration. I can’t speak to whether this is the policy at regional passport centers, and I fully expect these Project 2025 sacks of shit to come out with something hateful sooner than later, but at the moment, nothing has been issued.

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105 points
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It’s possible that the agent that did this did so understanding that they would face no consequences for it, regardless of whether it was true or not. Which means regardless of whether it’s official policy, it may be something trans people want to take into account before handing over any documents.

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16 points
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Yup, this is my guess. Whether or not it’s official policy doesn’t matter; The bigot behind the clerk’s desk is confiscating paperwork regardless. It’s possible their superiors don’t even know about it, and they’re just quietly shredding the IDs without telling anyone else in the office.

But the important point is that the bigot feels empowered to do so, because they don’t believe they’ll face any repercussions for it. We need to make bigots afraid again…

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31 points

Your, or even any, office not receiving official orders doesn’t make this not true.

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25 points

I mean, saying people should avoid updating their documents because this is the new policy is, in fact, untrue. Also, most of the documents listed are handled at the county or state level, not the federal level, so it’s going to be extremely location-dependent, other than passports.

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18 points

If you haven’t already updated your federal documents then it is probably too late. At least until these shits are gone.

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2 points

For starters, you made a blanket statement about the post in its entirety claiming it, and the experience of the person who made it, isn’t true, you can backpedal now, but that’s what you did.

Secondly:

so it’s going to be extremely location-dependent, other than passports.

In other words

Your, or even any, office not receiving official orders doesn’t make this not true.

Thirdly:

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/23/marco-rubio-state-department-passports-gender-trans-nonbinary/

You not being comfortable confronting reality doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

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3 points
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72 points

Not to sound insensitive, but this is just a social media post quoting another social media post without proof or the ability to verify anything.

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14 points
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Seconded. In these times, evidence is key to avoiding unnecessary panic. It is pretty easy to get with the technology we have in our pockets.

If you experience this, please collect whatever information you can to establish a pattern or keep a historical record.

Edit: I am not discounting this person’s experience. Evidence is important when you are trying to get people on board with your cause. Otherwise it might come off as fear mongering.

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9 points

I can’t actually imagine what proof of this situation would look like.

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1 point

If this was real it would have affected thousands of people and enough media outlets would have picked it up. This social media post isn’t even first hand experience, it’s what they allegedly heard from someone else.

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11 points
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I don’t think media coverage is a very reliable gauge of truth in a society where the media is controlled by oligarchs. On top of everything that that’s been going on, a journalist just got fired for calling Elon Musk a Nazi.

It’s also pretty common for marginalized people to relate their problems secondhand because victims don’t always want the public eye on them. Yes, victims should go to the authorities, but it’s often easier said than done even when the authorities aren’t well-known for dismissing victims and/or furthering their abuse.

e: To clarify, I don’t think it’s true that what the official said is policy; I think that person is probably lying. What I mean is that the incident itself is very plausible, and I have a policy of believing victims if there isn’t a good reason not to, especially where it may protect others.

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3 points

Personally, I would expect more than just a social media post. A second social media post repeating what they read in the first post shouldn’t count as evidence or confirmation.

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2 points

Not necessarily. I too have my doubts and even hope that this isn’t real, but it is always possible that singular border officers, empowered by the new definitions, take matters into their own hand. One look in Russia’s direction over the past few years and their propaganda laws, it starts with sporadic individual arrests. I visit the US on a semi-regular basis, but I think I will wait for at least a few months to see what comes of this, because even sparse arrests from bad-apple border officers are still a threat to my freedoms.

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43 points
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8 points

Stop issuing “x” passports isn’t the same as confiscating existing documents, let alone for everyone who requests any change (as this post claims). Also this only applies to the federal government.

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36 points
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1 point

As in, they reverted their name? Why?

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20 points
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