内容摘要：Sacred Harp singers sit among the headstones at Holly Springs church for a midday potluck. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Sacred Harp singers sit among the headstones at Holly Springs church for a midday potluck. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

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BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday partially blocked the Trump administration from enacting a policy that bans the use of “X” marker used by many nonbinary people on passports as well as the changing of gender markers.U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, sided with the American Civil Liberties Union’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which stays the action while the lawsuit plays out. It requires the State Department to allow six transgender and nonbinary people who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit to obtain passports with sex designations consistent with their gender identity.“The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”

Kobick also said plaintiffs have shown they would succeed in demonstrating that the new passport policy and executive order “are based on irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans and therefore offend our Nation’s constitutional commitment to equal protection for all Americans.”“In addition, the plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on their claim that the Passport Policy is arbitrary and capricious, and that it was not adopted in compliance with the procedures required by the Paperwork Reduction Act and Administrative Procedure Act,” she added.

In an executive order signed in January, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. The framing is in line with many conservatives’ views but at odds with major medical groups and policies under former President Joe Biden.

The ACLU, which sued the Trump administration, said the new policy would effectively mean transgender, nonbinary and intersex Americans could not get an accurate passport.Serbia’s Novak Djokovic serves against Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S. during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic serves against Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S. during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova is reflected in a glass as she plays Poland’s Iga Swiatek during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova is reflected in a glass as she plays Poland’s Iga Swiatek during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)France’s Richard Gasquet kicks the clay as he jumps to serve against France’s Terence Atmane, during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)