CrimsonWhite
*****istrator Emeritus
Transsexual wants two passports
The Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud (LDO) has received a unique enquiry.
A man claiming to be a transsexual has asked the LDO for assistance in acquiring two passports, one with a "woman passport photo".
"I have previously applied to the Ministry of Justice on this matter, since traveling as a woman leads to considerable problems when one's passport photo depicts a man," the man writes, describing himself as a "trans-person".
The applicant explains in the letter that traveling as a woman has become markedly more complicated after the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, due to the increased security checks at airports.
"For me this has made it virtually impossible to travel as a woman. I therefore make a plea that these rules be liberalized such that trans-persons have the opportunity to have two passports," the applicant wrote.
The petition points out that the Ministry of Justice does grant multiple passports in some cases, for example when traveling to areas of conflict where being stamped in one place can make it impossible to travel to another.
Adviser Stian Sigurdsen at the LDO told news agency NTB that the applicant has received a preliminary reply, saying that it can take some time before they decide their position on the matter.
"This is a completely new problem for the LDO. First it must be determined whether transgender and transsexuals are a group that comes under the LDO's sphere of interest. Another problem - if the group is part of our job - is if it is discriminatory that these persons do not get two passports," Sigurdsen said.
The alleged need for two passports will also be assessed on security grounds. On this aspect the LDO will request a statement from the Ministry of Justice.
I don't have a link to this. It was emailed to me by a friend. I'm not sure if it is anything more than hypothetical.