Attorney General leads multistate coalition supporting President's policy to record biological sex on U.S. passports

Attorney General Todd Rokita this week led a coalition of 24 states and the Arizona Legislature in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, supporting the Trump administration's policy of listing biological sex — rather than subjective gender identities — on U.S. passports.  
 
The brief calls for reversal of a district court's preliminary injunction blocking the policy in Ashton Orr, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., arguing that the Constitution permits the government to define "sex" as the objective, biological characteristic of male or female for official documents.  
 
“Passports are official government property, and allowing self-defined entries would create chaos, inconsistency, and endless administrative problems while undermining accurate identification.” Attorney General Rokita said. “Government records must reflect verifiable biological reality — the same standard used for centuries — rather than ever-changing personal perceptions that could lead to unlimited options and unreliable documentation.” 
 
The coalition contends that recording biological sex aligns with centuries of historical practice, dictionary definitions, Supreme Court precedent, and rational government interests in uniform, verifiable records. It notes that subjective gender identities can change and multiply indefinitely, making them unsuitable for official documents like passports. The brief also highlights the U.S. Supreme Court's recent stay of the injunction, signaling the policy's likely constitutionality.  
 
Joining Indiana are the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as the Arizona Legislature.  
 
The amicus brief is available here.