AUSTIN, Texas — In a letter to the heads of state agencies this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reiterated that the State of Texas only recognizes two genders: male and female.
This move isn’t so much new policy as it is performative, showing Abbott and Republican state leaders are in lockstep with executive orders issued by President Donald Trump in his first few days in the White House.
“This office has consistently reiterated a simple truth,” Abbott wrote in the letter. “The State of Texas recognizes only two sexes— male and female—and sex discrimination consists in treating a member of one sex less favorably than the other, absent some pertinent difference.”
In his letter, sent on Thursday to state leaders, Gov. Abbott said, “Others have sought to distort the guarantee that men and women must be treated equally in order to impose mandates concerning sexual orientation and gender identity.” He specifically referenced a purported attempt by Travis County courts to tell state agencies to change an individual’s “sex” designation on birth certificates and driver’s licenses to reflect their “supposed gender identity.”
“These instructions were not grounded in any recognized state cause of action, were issued in proceedings where no agency was a party, and contradicted both statutory law and biological reality,” Gov. Abbott wrote. “Consistent with state law, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Department of State Health Services (DSHS) have rightly refused to observe these lawless pronouncements.”
Last August, DSHS stopped allowing transgender people to get their sex changed on their birth certificates, even if they previously received a court order permitting them to do so. DPS made a similar shift to its driver’s license procedures, and the agency does not accept court orders that would change Texans’ sex identities unless a specific error was made.
Before that, DSHS’s website permitted Texans to “correct [a] child’s date of birth, place of birth, time of birth [and] sex.” Now, the only updates allowed are related to errors in filling out birth certificate forms.
“This stance by the governor, especially by the state legislature, has been expected for a decade or more. At this point, we’ve been seeing these sorts of attacks, and especially this sort of lockstep with the federal government, when political ideologies align for many years,” said Landon Richie, a policy analyst for the Transgender Education Network of Texas. “The letter yesterday wasn’t a shock, and it’s clear that the new administration and Texas leadership are on the same page, especially in wanting to remove trans people from public life.”
Since taking office, President Trump has signed executive orders stating the U.S. Government will only recognize a person’s gender assigned at birth, prohibiting federal funds from being used in programs that acknowledge people who identify as transgender, and rescinding gender-related directives put in place by the Biden administration.
Abbott referenced that executive order, which Trump signed hours after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, in his letter to state agencies.
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the executive order reads. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Abbott ended his letter by telling the heads of state agencies to “follow state and federal law,” adding, “All Texas agencies must ensure that agency rules, internal policies, employment practices, and other actions comply with the law and the biological reality that there are only two sexes, male and female.”
Texas Values, a conservative advocacy group, cheered the governor’s directive, which a press release from his office said was aimed at “rejecting radical sexual orientation and gender identity ideologies.”
“I think it makes a lot of sense for Gov. Abbott to send orders to Texas State agencies reinforcing what President Trump put out his executive orders that were based on science, real, provable science and accurate biology,” Jonathan Covey, the Director of Policy for Texas Values, said.
“Truth is critical to public safety, morale and trust in government,” Covey added. “We have a governmental transition on the federal level. I think it’s important to clarify where the state is based on where the federal government is.”
The letter is the latest action by Abbot and directing state agencies related to sexual orientation and gender identity ideologies.
“This is a performative action,” Emily Witt, with the Texas Freedom Network, said. “There is no piece of paper or order that can change the fact that trans and non-binary people have always existed, and they will always exist.”
For LGBTQ advocates, it is a familiar attack and a “red meat” issue designed to score political points with the Republican base by “scapegoating vulnerable communities.”
“These are all just distractions, but at the same time, they are real threats to people who exist in Texas and deserve to be safe and embraced in our state,” Witt said.
Richie said he feels this is a distraction from other, more important problems Texas is facing.
“We are constantly worrying about whether or not the electrical grid will withstand increasingly unprecedented weather events, and so when the political party in power can point fingers at a vulnerable group, that takes away the attention from the failures of the state’s leadership,” Richie said. “We have come to expect that that is what our legislature and our state government is going to do, session after session, year after year, inconvenience after political inconvenience.”
Covey said he feels that with the change in administrations and President Trump now in the White House beginning to implement his agenda, this directive is essential for Abbott to clarify the state’s position.
“I think it’s important for Gov. Abbott to get out there and to reassure everyday Texans or people of faith that he’s with them and that the heads of agencies, and the agencies themselves are going to make decisions based upon biology and science,” Covey said.
Advocates say the directive, even though performative, can lead to fear, confusion and concern in the transgender community.
“Many communities, especially the LGBTQ community, are prepared to be attacked,” Witt said. “They’ve known that this is coming. That doesn’t make it less hurtful.”
Richie vowed to continue to push back on policies they view as “hateful and harmful.”
“A world without trans people has never existed and never will. Our legal protections and recognitions are relatively new, and the fact that they do exist does not necessarily legitimize who we are, and the fact that they may not exist also does not delegitimize who we are,” Richie said. “We have existed before legal recognition and will exist far after nothing about what the law says changes who we are, who we know ourselves to be.”
On Friday, Abbott issued an additional executive order, directing state agencies to eliminate any form of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and “treat all people equally regardless of race.” Since taking office, Trump has eliminated DEI programs and policies in the federal government. In a statement, Abbott said those policies “have no place in Texas.”
“These radical policies deviate from constitutional principles and deny diverse thought,” Abbott said. “Every Texan is equal under the law, including the state and federal Constitutions, both of which prohibit government discrimination based on race.”
“We must always reject race-based favoritism or discrimination and allow people to advance based on talent and merit,” Abbott added.
In 2023, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 17, forcing publicly-funded colleges and universities across Texas to shut down DEI programs, initiatives or training. It also requires public institutions to limit the mention of DEI and support for DEI initiatives and eliminate diversity-related positions or conditions for employment or admission related to DEI. The law went into effect at the start of 2024, and has led to the shuttering of DEI programs and initiatives on campuses across the state.
In this current legislative session, Abbott has said he wants to expand those efforts and ban DEI initiatives in K-12 public schools.