The White House announced new provisions in support of transgender and LGBTQI+ rights. Americans will be able to choose an “X” in the gender portion of their passport applications – a move towards a gender-neutral and inclusive passport.

The “X” choice is also going to be allowed on U.S. Social Security cards. These measures aim to provide leeway and choice for intersex, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming individuals who do not identify with either male or female gender designations.

The change coincides with U.S. president Biden’s proclamation that the administration honors “transgender people fighting for freedom, equality, dignity, and respect.” To know more about the White House’s plans on advancing visibility and equality for transgender Americans, visit this fact sheet.

The option of selecting X as the gender marker begins on April 11 for U.S. citizens, according to Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State. It followed the State Department’s plans on passport applications in June regarding gender selection without medical documentation submission.

Facing challenges from the system to discrimination and violence, transgender Americans also deserve the liberties to be themselves, according to the Biden administration. Measures such as the X marker along with easier travel, provision of resources to transgender individuals, and access to federal services are some of the plans and offerings of the federal government to transgender Americans.

If ever there was a perfect time for a guided vacation, this is it.

As bored, but wary, travelers consider heading out their front doors, many still are concerned about how to navigate the ever-changing regulations, capacity restrictions, and chance of coming down with Covid far from home. If you can’t take your favorite travel advisor along with you, a guided vacation seems like the next-best thing.

Companies like Adventures by Disney, Collette, Globus, Insight Vacations/Luxury Gold, Tauck and Trafalgar, and the travel advisors who sell them, are reporting growing interest and sold-out tour groups to top US destinations—even in April and May of 2021. Collette’s website shows its Painted Canyons of the West, which includes five national parks, is sold out for all three May departures; National Parks is sold out for May Read the rest of this entry »