The territory governor signed an executive order allowing individuals to change gender markers on identification documents after failing to get the change through the legislature.
By Catholics for Catholics
The U.S. Virgin Islands became the first American territory to permit individuals to change their gender markers on their identification documents.
According to LifeSiteNews, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. of the U.S. Virgin Islands signed an executive order directing the territory’s agencies to allow, including the Department of Health’s Office of Vital Statistics and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, to alter gender designations on official documents upon request, making sure that Virgin Islanders can obtain identification that accurately reflects their identity,” according to a press release.
The gender designation change can be done provided either with a judicial order or medical documentation “confirming that the individual has an intersex condition and that a gender designation change is appropriate.”
“Virgin Islanders have reached out to our administration seeking a way to have their documents reflect who they truly are,” Bryan said. “This Executive Order provides a fair and compassionate process where none existed before. It ensures that our government recognizes and respects the lived realities of all our residents (…) Our administration remains committed to fairness, dignity, and respect for every Virgin Islander. This Executive Order brings the Virgin Islands in line with modern standards of inclusion and ensures that all residents have access to accurate and affirming government identification.”
At first, Bryan tried to get a change to the documents by legislative means, according to LifeSiteNews. But his attempts failed.
In November 2024, amid a fierce debate, the bill stalled before the Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety.
“Assistant Health Commissioner Dr. Nicole Syms testified that aligning legal documents with an individual’s identity would reduce discrimination and improve access to health care,” the report recounts. “Senators Ray Fonseca, Alma Francis Heyliger and Kenneth Gittens, however, voiced concerns over the measure’s broader implications, including its impact on sports participation, public facilities and law enforcement databases.”
Opponents of moves like the one made Bryan say their efforts have yielded a wide array of harms, both to the physical and mental health of gender-confused individuals themselves as well as to the rights, health, and safety of those who disagree, such as girls and women forced to share intimate facilities with males, female athletes forced to compete against biological males with natural physical advantages, and individuals forced to affirm false sexual identities in violation of their consciences, their understanding of scientific fact, and/or their religious beliefs.
President Donald Trump has issued executive orders to deny federal funds to medical and educational entities that promote gender ideology, which so far have gotten numerous major hospital systems to cease “transition” procedures on minors.
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