S. 2959: Passport Sanity Act

This bill, named the Passport Sanity Act, is designed to change how gender is represented on certain official documents issued by the U.S. Department of State, specifically passports, passport cards, and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad. The main provisions of the bill include:

Key Provisions

• The bill requires the Secretary of State to ensure that all applications for the specified documents can only include the gender options of "male" or "female".
• It prohibits the issuance of any passport, passport card, or Consular Report of Birth Abroad that includes an unspecified gender designation, which is represented by the letter "X".

Defined Terms

The bill defines a term referred to as "covered document," which encompasses:

• Passports
• Passport cards
• Consular Reports of Birth Abroad

Effect on Applications

Under this bill, anyone applying for the covered documents will have to select from one of the two gender options available, thus eliminating the option to identify with a non-binary or unspecified gender. This change could impact how individuals identify themselves in official documentation and may affect their ability to obtain these documents if they do not identify strictly as male or female.

Implementation

The responsibility for implementing these changes falls on the Secretary of State, who will ensure compliance with the new restrictions on gender designations when processing applications for the affected documents.

Conclusion and Impact

Overall, this bill aims to standardize the gender options available on key identity documents issued by the government, limiting them to binary choices and excluding any unspecified designations.

Relevant Companies

None found.