Harper Seldin
@harperseldin.bsky.social
Attorney at ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. Views are my own.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
President Trump's anti-trans passport policy is now in effect, but our lawsuit challenging it isn't over yet.
President Trump's anti-trans passport policy is now in effect, but our lawsuit challenging it isn't over yet.
Q & A: Orr v. Trump | American Civil Liberties Union
Following a January 2025 Executive Order from President Donald Trump, the State Department began barring people from obtaining passports with a sex designation on them that is not the same as their sex assigned at birth. In response, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the State Department's policy on behalf of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people.
www.aclu.org
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
President Trump's anti-trans passport policy is now in effect, but our lawsuit challenging it isn't over yet.
President Trump's anti-trans passport policy is now in effect, but our lawsuit challenging it isn't over yet.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
'If the government can enforce rules based on the 'historical fact' of our sex assigned at birth without offending equal protection principles, then what does that mean for the conditions of our lives in the present?" @chasestrangio.bsky.social
Elusive Discrimination
The Supreme Court's continued unwillingness to vindicate trans rights.
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:45 PM
'If the government can enforce rules based on the 'historical fact' of our sex assigned at birth without offending equal protection principles, then what does that mean for the conditions of our lives in the present?" @chasestrangio.bsky.social
Reposted by Harper Seldin
The Supreme Court this week allowed the State Department to enforce President Trump's anti-trans passport policy while our lawsuit challenging his executive order moves through the courts.
We'll keep this page updated as our legal experts learn more.
We'll keep this page updated as our legal experts learn more.
Q & A: Orr v. Trump | American Civil Liberties Union
Following a January 2025 Executive Order from President Donald Trump, the State Department began barring people from obtaining passports with a sex designation on them that is not the same as their sex assigned at birth. In response, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the State Department's policy on behalf of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people.
www.aclu.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:32 PM
The Supreme Court this week allowed the State Department to enforce President Trump's anti-trans passport policy while our lawsuit challenging his executive order moves through the courts.
We'll keep this page updated as our legal experts learn more.
We'll keep this page updated as our legal experts learn more.
The law, in its majestic equality.
Honestly one of the worst, most disturbing paragraphs — on the basis of process, substance, and effect — I’ve read in a Supreme Court order or opinion in a very long time.
November 7, 2025 at 2:50 AM
The law, in its majestic equality.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
The story of this week is that millions of Americans were told in 2024 their lives would be improved if trans people's lives were made worse and I'm glad they're finally waking up to the fact that was never true to begin with--but trans people's lives are still getting worse
November 6, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The story of this week is that millions of Americans were told in 2024 their lives would be improved if trans people's lives were made worse and I'm glad they're finally waking up to the fact that was never true to begin with--but trans people's lives are still getting worse
Reposted by Harper Seldin
This fight isn't over. Our case challenging President Trump's executive order will still move forward.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
November 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This fight isn't over. Our case challenging President Trump's executive order will still move forward.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
BREAKING: The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to enforce its discriminatory passport policy while our lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
November 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
BREAKING: The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to enforce its discriminatory passport policy while our lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
This sentence ranks right up there with language from Bowers and Plessy for combining cruelty and callousness.
November 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
This sentence ranks right up there with language from Bowers and Plessy for combining cruelty and callousness.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
I have watched as so-called "compromise" positions on transgender people's rights have failed over and over--in statehouses, the Biden White House, and in liberal rhetoric. There is no middle ground acceptable to the politicians, activists, and billionaires obsessed with trans people and our lives.
November 1, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I have watched as so-called "compromise" positions on transgender people's rights have failed over and over--in statehouses, the Biden White House, and in liberal rhetoric. There is no middle ground acceptable to the politicians, activists, and billionaires obsessed with trans people and our lives.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
BREAKING: We're asking the Supreme Court to reject the Trump administration's attempt to revive its discriminatory passport policy.
Lower courts were right when they stopped the the State Department from denying transgender, non-binary, and intersex people accurate identification.
Lower courts were right when they stopped the the State Department from denying transgender, non-binary, and intersex people accurate identification.
October 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
BREAKING: We're asking the Supreme Court to reject the Trump administration's attempt to revive its discriminatory passport policy.
Lower courts were right when they stopped the the State Department from denying transgender, non-binary, and intersex people accurate identification.
Lower courts were right when they stopped the the State Department from denying transgender, non-binary, and intersex people accurate identification.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Hear from state constitution super-users @erings.bsky.social, Celina Stewart (@lwvus.bsky.social), @harperseldin.bsky.social (@aclu.org), and Julia Olson (@youthvgov.bsky.social), as they demonstrate how dynamic learning about state constitutions can be in their SXSW EDU Featured Session.
October 1, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Hear from state constitution super-users @erings.bsky.social, Celina Stewart (@lwvus.bsky.social), @harperseldin.bsky.social (@aclu.org), and Julia Olson (@youthvgov.bsky.social), as they demonstrate how dynamic learning about state constitutions can be in their SXSW EDU Featured Session.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Wrote about The Heritage Foundation's plan to weaponize the FBI against transgender people's existence, which includes banning me from saying that's what they're doing
Do Trans People Have A Right to Exist?
Or, My Life As An Ideology
open.substack.com
September 21, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Wrote about The Heritage Foundation's plan to weaponize the FBI against transgender people's existence, which includes banning me from saying that's what they're doing
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Transgender people are owed a retraction and apology from @wsj.com. The lie has already become canon to millions and it seems the least they could do.
September 12, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Transgender people are owed a retraction and apology from @wsj.com. The lie has already become canon to millions and it seems the least they could do.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Good news
Judge blocks Justice Department's transgender care subpoena to Boston Children's Hospital reut.rs/3I5I4TS
Judge blocks Justice Department's transgender care subpoena to Boston Children's Hospital
A federal judge on Tuesday quashed a subpoena the U.S. Department of Justice had issued to Boston Children's Hospital as part of a wide-ranging investigation into doctors and clinics that provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth.
reut.rs
September 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Good news
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Despite today’s outrageous ruling, we all have the right to go about our daily lives free from racial profiling by the federal government.
We will never stop fighting for our civil liberties and our immigrant communities.
We will never stop fighting for our civil liberties and our immigrant communities.
September 8, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Despite today’s outrageous ruling, we all have the right to go about our daily lives free from racial profiling by the federal government.
We will never stop fighting for our civil liberties and our immigrant communities.
We will never stop fighting for our civil liberties and our immigrant communities.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Too often, trans men are left out of the conversations that we have. I set out to answer "why?"
Thank you to Rae Timberlake with SPARTA Pride, @harperseldin.bsky.social of the @aclu.org, and Jamison Green for talking to me for this piece.
Thank you to Rae Timberlake with SPARTA Pride, @harperseldin.bsky.social of the @aclu.org, and Jamison Green for talking to me for this piece.
The artifice of male supremacy: Why trans men are often ignored in the debate about trans rights - buff.ly/YS8gllc
August 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Too often, trans men are left out of the conversations that we have. I set out to answer "why?"
Thank you to Rae Timberlake with SPARTA Pride, @harperseldin.bsky.social of the @aclu.org, and Jamison Green for talking to me for this piece.
Thank you to Rae Timberlake with SPARTA Pride, @harperseldin.bsky.social of the @aclu.org, and Jamison Green for talking to me for this piece.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
This from Riley Gaines is why trans people freak out when Democrats try to carve out some compromise over sports. The politicians and activists attacking trans people are not interested in compromise! They're interested in our eradication from public life and are exploiting sports to that end
August 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
This from Riley Gaines is why trans people freak out when Democrats try to carve out some compromise over sports. The politicians and activists attacking trans people are not interested in compromise! They're interested in our eradication from public life and are exploiting sports to that end
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Subpoenas made public this week show the government is demanding doctors turn over a wide range of sensitive, identifiable data about its trans patients — everything from social security numbers to Zoom records, notes, addresses, "everything written or recorded." Our story: wapo.st/4lAnkRy
Government’s demand for trans care info sought addresses, doctors’ notes, texts
Legal experts said the Justice Department subpoenas related to medical care for transgender minors appear to be unprecedented.
wapo.st
August 20, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Subpoenas made public this week show the government is demanding doctors turn over a wide range of sensitive, identifiable data about its trans patients — everything from social security numbers to Zoom records, notes, addresses, "everything written or recorded." Our story: wapo.st/4lAnkRy
Reposted by Harper Seldin
A fishing expedition designed to terrorize these providers and these families. The subpeonas could be (and likely are) baseless and lawless, but what DOJ wants is to frighten hospital boards enough to drop these patients altogether
Subpoenas made public this week show the government is demanding doctors turn over a wide range of sensitive, identifiable data about its trans patients — everything from social security numbers to Zoom records, notes, addresses, "everything written or recorded." Our story: wapo.st/4lAnkRy
Government’s demand for trans care info sought addresses, doctors’ notes, texts
Legal experts said the Justice Department subpoenas related to medical care for transgender minors appear to be unprecedented.
wapo.st
August 21, 2025 at 1:11 AM
A fishing expedition designed to terrorize these providers and these families. The subpeonas could be (and likely are) baseless and lawless, but what DOJ wants is to frighten hospital boards enough to drop these patients altogether
Reposted by Harper Seldin
It is an incredible testament to our strength that in the face of a relentless political onslaught designed to push transgender people from public life, more and more of us are finding the courage to be ourselves. Every living trans person is a Republican policy failure.
August 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
It is an incredible testament to our strength that in the face of a relentless political onslaught designed to push transgender people from public life, more and more of us are finding the courage to be ourselves. Every living trans person is a Republican policy failure.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Taking photos and video of law enforcement officers performing their duties in public is our constitutional right.
This includes police, FBI, National Guard troops, ICE agents, and other government officials.
This includes police, FBI, National Guard troops, ICE agents, and other government officials.
August 14, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Taking photos and video of law enforcement officers performing their duties in public is our constitutional right.
This includes police, FBI, National Guard troops, ICE agents, and other government officials.
This includes police, FBI, National Guard troops, ICE agents, and other government officials.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
A story designed to break my heart specifically: "The Phelans ran the only bookstore in Vermillion, South Dakota. They sold it and moved after a new law would have required their daughter to use a boy’s bathroom."
A family opened a town’s first bookstore. A bathroom bill is driving them away.
The Phelans ran the only bookstore in Vermillion, South Dakota. They sold it and moved after a new law would’ve required their daughter to use a boy’s bathroom.
wapo.st
August 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
A story designed to break my heart specifically: "The Phelans ran the only bookstore in Vermillion, South Dakota. They sold it and moved after a new law would have required their daughter to use a boy’s bathroom."
Reposted by Harper Seldin
The Skrmetti decision "leaves the courts free to continue to apply closer-look review to most transgender rights contexts" but also provides cover to "refuse to see sex or gender identify classifications," @katieeyer.bsky.social of @law.rutgers.edu argues. www.theregreview.org/2025/07/14/e...
July 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The Skrmetti decision "leaves the courts free to continue to apply closer-look review to most transgender rights contexts" but also provides cover to "refuse to see sex or gender identify classifications," @katieeyer.bsky.social of @law.rutgers.edu argues. www.theregreview.org/2025/07/14/e...
Reposted by Harper Seldin
Our pressure worked: The State Department has finally issued guidance for how individuals can proceed after a federal judge blocked President Trump's anti-trans passport policy.
If you or your loved ones are affected by this policy, we're here with more information.
If you or your loved ones are affected by this policy, we're here with more information.
Q&A: Orr v. Trump | American Civil Liberties Union
www.aclu.org
July 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Our pressure worked: The State Department has finally issued guidance for how individuals can proceed after a federal judge blocked President Trump's anti-trans passport policy.
If you or your loved ones are affected by this policy, we're here with more information.
If you or your loved ones are affected by this policy, we're here with more information.
Reposted by Harper Seldin
I'm sure the parents of trans kids will take great comfort knowing we can't say if a ban on their health care will kill their child--their child will merely wish they were dead
The "misinformation" in question here is that gender-affirming care reduces suicides among youth. It merely reduces depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
June 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I'm sure the parents of trans kids will take great comfort knowing we can't say if a ban on their health care will kill their child--their child will merely wish they were dead