Iowa Bill Threatens Gender Identity Protections, Drawing Protests
DES MOINES, Iowa – Republican lawmakers in Iowa have advanced a bill that would remove gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code. The move has ignited protests and concerns from LGBTQ+ advocates.
Several protesters were arrested at the Iowa state Capitol on Monday, February 24, 2025, as the bill moved forward. Demonstrators chanted, “trans rights are human rights,” throughout the building. Similar bills have emerged in previous years, but this one successfully cleared two legislative hurdles on Monday with the support of Republicans on the state House Judiciary Committee.
All Democrats and one Republican voted against advancing the bill to a vote of the full House. Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Capitol rotunda, waving rainbow flags and signs to voice their opposition. Mandi Remington, a county supervisor and activist in eastern Johnson County, said the bill would discriminate against transgender Iowans, taking away their rights: “It tells an entire group of Iowans — our neighbors, students, coworkers and family members — that they’re not worthy of the same rights and protections as everyone else.”
Iowa’s civil rights law currently prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, and disability status in employment, wages, public accommodations, housing, education, and credit practices. Sexual orientation and gender identity were added in 2007 by the then-Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Debate Over Gender Identity Protections
Proponents of the current bill argue that the 2007 changes incorrectly codified the idea that people can transition to another gender, and they have voiced apprehensions regarding access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams. House Speaker Pat Grassley said the full Republican caucus is considering the issue this year. The consideration comes after a court decision cited the gender identity protection in civil rights law, threatening recently enacted “common sense” policies. Many Republican-led states have restricted sports participation, and some have passed laws restricting public bathroom access.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office, he has signed a series of executive orders regarding trans issues. Most of the policies are being challenged in court.
Amber Williams, a lobbyist for Inspired Life, which advocates for Christ-centered culture, indicated the bill would protect women’s rights: “The bill provides clarity in law, ensuring that sex-based protections cannot be overridden by fluid or subjective definitions of gender.”
The Iowa bill would remove gender identity as a protected class and it would define female and male, and gender, as synonyms for sex. The bill indicates that definitions of gender are “not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.”
Broader Context of Gender Identity Laws
About half of U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights codes to protect against discrimination, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. If successful, this would be the first time that a state would remove existing, explicit nondiscrimination statutory protections for gender identity. The bill now moves to the House floor and then the Senate before being presented to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for her signature.
