Iowa lawmakers vote to pass Civil Rights Code to remove gender identity protection

Iowa lawmakers voted to remove gender identity protection from Thursday’s civil rights regulations, despite massive protests by opponents, who say it could make transgender people discriminate in many areas of life.

The measure was carried out through the legislative process after its first introduction last week. The state Senate first approved the bill Thursday, and less than an hour later the House of Representatives.

Hundreds of 2SLGBTQ+ advocates flowed into the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday the sign of “Transgender rights are human rights” and shouted, including “No hatred in our state!”, including “No hatred!”

Police were present, with state police stationed around the rotunda. Opposition to the bill is enormous, with 2SLGBTQ+ people and their allies appearing in the fight to defend human rights of trans and non-binary people. Of the 167 people signed at a 90-minute public hearing held by the House Committee, all but 24 opposed the bill.

Protesters watched the vote in the House gallery booed loudly and shouted “Shame!” with the room adjourned. Many have warned Rep. Steven Holt, Iowa, that he managed the bill and made a fierce defense before it passed.

The bill would remove gender identity from the state’s civil rights law and clearly define women and men as well as gender, thus treating it as synonyms for gender, “it should not be considered as synonyms or shorthand expressions for gender identity, experiencing gender, gender expression or gender role.”

Logan Casey, director of policy research program at 2SLGBTQ+ Rights Think Tank, said the measure would be the first legislative action to protect non-discriminatory based on gender identity.

Proponents of the change say that the current law will allow people to transition to other genders, which they think is incorrect and grant trans women access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams, which they believe should be reserved for those who allocate women.

“The Iowa legislature has vested interests and solemn responsibilities in the future of our children and in our culture to support immutable truths,” Holt said.

2SLGBTQ+ Human Rights and Human Rights advocates say there is no reason to deprive civil rights protections from trans and non-binary people.

2SLGBTQ+ Advocacy Group One One IWA Active said: “If the bill passes, many of the basic necessities of life in Iowa will become more difficult for trans Iowans.”

“Landholders will be able to deny their ability to rent apartments, banks will be able to deny their car loans, and hotels will be able to keep them out for trans reasons. The bill gives those who want to discriminate against the ability to put their thumbs on the scale of the American Dream.”

Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, the last Democrat to oppose the bill Thursday, was emotional when she offered her personal story as a trans woman and said: “I transitioned to save my life.”

“The purpose of this bill and the purpose of each anti-trans bill is to further eliminate our public life and stigmatize our existence,” Wichtendahl said. “The sum of each anti-estrangement trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal.”

“It should…enhance, no removal of protection”

The legislation is now attributed to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has been supporting efforts to limit gender identity protections. A Reynolds spokesman declined to comment on whether she would sign the bill.

The action by Iowa lawmakers avoided the withdrawal of gender protection from the state’s hate crime laws the same day after the Georgia House of Representatives quits Ahamud Arbery’s death.

Iowa’s current civil rights laws protect discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender identity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or disability status.

Sexual orientation and gender identity were not originally included in the State Civil Rights Act of 1965. The democratically controlled legislature increased in 2007, also with the support of about twelve Republicans in two rooms.

Iowa Republicans said their changes were designed to strengthen the state’s ban on sports participation and public bathroom access for transgender students, which was signed into law by Reynolds.

Glad president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said Wednesday that the growing attack on trans rights should be a reason for strengthening protection, not a dismissal.

“In transgender people in unprecedented attacks, protection should be enforced and strengthened, rather than being evacuated to attack discrimination,” Ellis said in a statement.

“Nondiscrimination laws are crucial to protecting our most vulnerable and marginalized communities and to ensure that no one will be treated differently because of who they are. This is a red alarm to wake up the call that if they can do this to trans people, all civil rights protections can be risky,” Ellis said.

According to the movement’s progressive program, about half of the U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights codes to prevent discrimination in housing and public places such as shops or restaurants. Some other states do not explicitly protect this discrimination, but it is included in the legal interpretation of the statute.

The Iowa Supreme Court rejected the argument that discrimination based on gender includes discrimination based on gender identity.

Several Republican-led legislatures are also pushing for more laws this year, creating legal definitions based on the reproductive organs at birth, according to executive orders from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump issued a huge order in executive orders targeting trans and non-binary people’s rights, and also signed the basis for banning trans people’s military service and separating trans girls and women from the foundations of girls and women’s sports. Most policies are challenged in court.