Iowa Removes Gender Identity Protections from Civil Rights Code
Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation on Friday to eliminate gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code.
In a statement released by her office, Reynolds, a Republican and the first woman to serve as Iowa’s governor, argued that the Civil Rights Code blurred the biological distinction between sexes and compelled Iowa taxpayers to fund gender reassignment surgeries. She stated, “It is unacceptable to me.” The bill, Reynolds said, aligns Iowa with the federal Civil Rights Code.
“We all agree that every Iowan, without exception, deserves respect and dignity. We are all children of God, and no law changes that,” Reynolds said in the statement. “What this bill does accomplish is to strengthen protections for women and girls, and I believe that is the right thing to do.”
Iowa lawmakers were the first in the nation to approve legislation removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code on Thursday. This decision followed extensive protests from opponents who expressed concerns that it could expose transgender individuals to discrimination in numerous facets of life. Introduced the previous week, the measure advanced swiftly through the legislative process.
The state Senate approved the bill along party lines on Thursday, with the House following suit less than an hour later. Five House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. The legislation seeks to remove gender identity from the state’s civil rights law as a protected class. It also explicitly defines female and male, as well as gender which will be treated as equivalent to sex. Gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, and gender role shall not be synonymous with sex.
Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank, stated this measure would be the first legislative move in the U.S. to strip nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity. The bill comes after Reynolds signed earlier rulings prohibiting transgender students from participating in sports and accessing public bathrooms.
A spokesperson for Reynolds declined to comment on whether she would sign the bill. If signed, it will go into effect on July 1.
Thousands of LGBTQ+ advocates streamed into the Capitol rotunda on Thursday, waving signs bearing messages such as “Trans rights are human rights” and chanting slogans including “No hate in our state!”
There was a strong police presence, with state troopers stationed around the rotunda. Before a House committee, 167 people registered to testify at a 90-minute public hearing. Of those, all but 24 opposed the bill.
As the chamber adjourned, protesters watching the vote from the House gallery loudly booed and shouted “Shame!” Many confronted Iowa state Rep. Steven Holt, who managed the bill on the floor and staunchly defended it before its passage.
Supporters of the modification argue that the existing law incorrectly codified the notion that individuals can transition to another gender. They also claim the law grants transgender women access to spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams, that should be reserved for those assigned female at birth.
Holt stated that including gender identity in the civil rights codes threatens what he calls “commonsense” laws meant to ban transgender participation in sports and access to bathrooms. “The legislature of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has a vested interest and solemn responsibility to stand up for immutable truth,” Holt declared.
Iowa’s actions follow the Georgia House’s decision to withdraw from removing gender protections from the state’s hate crimes law. This law was passed in 2020 after the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Iowa’s current civil rights law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or disability status. Sexual orientation and gender identity were not originally part of the state’s Civil Rights Act of 1965. They were added by the Democratic-controlled legislature in 2007, with support from about a dozen Republicans across the two chambers.
Iowa state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl was the last Democrat to speak out against the bill. She became emotional while sharing her personal story as a transgender woman. She said, “I transitioned to save my life.” She added, “The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence. The sum total of every anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal.”
After she concluded speaking, she received a standing ovation from numerous legislators and onlookers in the gallery, according to CBS Des Moines affiliate KCCI-TV. After the Senate passed the bill, a man began shouting from the gallery, branding lawmakers “fascists” and asking “Who’s next?” Three state troopers escorted him out, and other individuals yelling were removed as well.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, roughly half of U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights codes to protect against discrimination in public places, such as stores or restaurants. Some other states do not explicitly provide such protections, but they are covered in legal interpretations of statutes.
Iowa’s Supreme Court has expressly denied the argument that sex-based discrimination encompasses gender identity discrimination. Following an executive order from President Trump, several Republican-led legislatures seek to pass more laws this year creating legal definitions of male and female based on reproductive organs at birth.
On Thursday night, Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social site: “Iowa, a beautiful State that I have won BIG every time, has a Bill to remove Radical Gender Ideology from their Laws. Iowa should follow the lead of my Executive Order, saying there are only two genders, and pass this Bill — AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Thank you Iowa!”
