Iowa lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday on an unprecedented bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity, a move that opponents say could expose transgender people to discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing and education.
The bill, first introduced last week, raced through the legislative process despite opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates who rallied at the Capitol on Monday and Tuesday. A 90-minute public hearing will likely bring hundreds back to the rotunda.
Iowa’s civil rights law currently protects against 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 included in the state’s Civil Rights Act of 1965. They were added by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2007, also with the support of about a dozen Republicans across the two chambers.
The current bill’s supporters, many of whom will also testify before lawmakers, say that was a mistake. They argue that it incorrectly codified the idea that people can transition to another gender and granted transgender women access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that should be protected for people who were assigned female at birth.
The bill would remove gender identity as a protected class and explicitly define female and male, as well as gender, which would be considered a synonym for sex and “shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.”
If it passes in both the Iowa House and Senate, which currently have GOP majorities, it would go to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.
Many Republican-led states, including Iowa, have passed laws restricting sports participation or public bathroom access for transgender students. Iowa Republicans say the bill is intended to reinforce those policies.
About half of U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights code to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. Some additional states do not explicitly protect against such discrimination but it is included in legal interpretations of statutes.
Iowa’s Supreme Court has expressly rejected the argument that discrimination based on sex includes discrimination based on gender identity.
The Iowa bill would be the first legislative action removing explicit nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity, said Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project.
Several Republican-led legislatures are also pushing to enact more laws this year creating legal definitions of male and female based on the reproductive organs at birth following an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Trump also signed orders laying the groundwork for banning transgender people from military service and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women’s sports competitions, among other things. Most of the policies are being challenged in court.
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