Transgender applicants and their families experienced familiar disappointment in Seattle on Wednesday, June 18 at the US passport office on Fifth Avenue. The day before, it was announced that US District Judge Julia Kobick had widened an injunction temporarily blocking President Trump’s executive order preventing Transgender Americans from changing the sex marker on their passports.
Several people reported feeling optimistic they would finally be able to obtain this critical US travel document on Wednesday, and have it accurately reflect their gender identity. However, the result was only more heartbreak and frustration, as government officials continued to turn them away. The ACLU has since released a statement advising Transgender people to wait for State Department officials to receive guidance before applying for their passports again.
Advocate mother
A single mother and her 17-year-old Trans son from Kitsap County were among those at the passport office on Wednesday. Since February, the two have been caught up in Trump’s anti-LGBTQIA+ agenda, trying to replace a lost passport before the son’s high school summer trip to Nicaragua. (The mother requested to share the story of what she and her child have gone through to the SGN anonymously.)
The mother reported having been led astray over these last few months by the State Department. According to her, she has struggled to provide sufficient documentation, despite her son having been issued a passport with a male marker with no difficulty under President Biden. She admitted still being new to the Transgender experience, unaware of the difficult legal barriers her son would need to overcome.
After spending hundreds of dollars in application fees, and two incorrect passports later, she came away from the passport office Wednesday feeling distraught, stating, “They’re clearly doing all of this just to spite a demographic of people, because they [Trans people] do not align with their beliefs.”
Despite the gender incongruence with his passport, and being offered to skip the trip, the son will still go ahead, his mother said, having gone on the same school-led trip the previous year. And, according to his mother, his experience in high school has been generally very supportive, even receiving a congratulatory call from staff after his legal name change went through.
While recalling again the disappointing events at the passport office, she broke into tears. “I get really upset, because what are Trans people doing to anyone?” she said. “They just want to live their life, and they’re not hurting anyone. Like my child is such a gentle soul. It’s just wrong.”
That day, she did, however, feel comforted in meeting others who were in the same precarious situation as her son. And these events did not break her resolve to advocate for her child, as well as protest the other injustices perpetrated under Trump, stating plainly: “He’s just a cruel, awful, narcissistic, evil person.”
Others in limbo
Maayan Kline is a 31-year-old software engineer who also came that morning, intending on correcting the passport given to her. However, she had a hunch, after arriving, that the passport office was not going to be able to help so soon after the ruling.
Kline said she transitioned — changing her passport and other documentation — nearly 10 years ago. After the 2024 election, she noticed that her passport had only a year left before expiring, so she applied, hoping it would be processed before Trump’s anti-Trans policies would go into effect.
She was disappointed, but not surprised, to find that the State Department sent her a new passport with a reverted sex marker. She lamented, “[The passport] was just nonconsensually changed. They didn’t say anything… It was just real snake-type, sketchy behavior.”
Kline reported that her application has been put on hold, while officials wait for State Department guidance.
While at the passport office, she was approached by the mother and son, who overheard the conversation she had with the official at the desk. Reflecting on their interaction, Klein said, “Her advocacy for her child was really inspiring.”
And finally, SGN Publisher Renee Raketty was also present that day. She shares a very similar fate to the others, with no change to her current — and incorrectly labeled — passport. Having met with various people, including those interviewed above, she wrote in a statement: “The SGN will continue to follow this developing story — one that impacts not just individual travelers but the fundamental rights of Transgender individuals.”
Support the Seattle Gay News: Celebrate 51 Years with Us!
As the third-oldest LGBTQIA+ newspaper in the United States, the Seattle Gay News (SGN) has been a vital independent source of news and entertainment for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest since 1974.
As we celebrate our 51st year, we need your support to continue our mission.
A monthly contribution will ensure that SGN remains a beacon of truth and a virtual gathering place for community dialogue.
Help us keep printing and providing a platform for LGBTQIA+ voices.
How you can donate!
Using this link: givebutter.com/6lZnDB
Text “SGN” to 53-555
Or Scan the QR code below!
