Iowa bill ending transgender protections heads to governor's desk

Yahoo

28-02-2025

A bill that would repeal civil rights protections for transgender Iowans has passed the state House and Senate and is on its way to be signed by Governor Kim Reynolds.
Tyler Mitchell, Director of Development at The Project of the Quad Cities spoke with Our Quad Cities News via Zoom to discuss the ramifications of HSB 242/SF 418.
'To my knowledge, it has not yet been signed,' Mitchell said. 'However, we anticipate that it will be signed at some point, probably relatively soon.'
He explained why protestors have been demonstrating against the proposed law. 'This bill is dangerous for a number of different reasons. Iowa would become the first state in the entire country to remove a protected class from its Civil Rights Code. By doing so, we are essentially taking away equal treatment and protection under the law for transgender and nonbinary Iowans. This is a huge and significant deal.'
Mitchell is concerned that the impact of the bill might not be immediately visible. 'The trans community in the state of Iowa is relatively small. Nonetheless, this impacts people's lives in a negative way. It might not be an impact that we'll see tomorrow or even the day after. Certainly, within the next year or so, I can see certain things coming to fruition.'
'It is a removal of a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Code. What this can impact for people are certain protections, access to housing, employment opportunities, very much sort of cutting off the core freedoms that all of us should be able to experience, and all the opportunities that every Iowan, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, whoever they might be, should experience. Every Iowan should have access to those opportunities.'
'It is really important that we as a community make our voices heard. Letting the governor know at this moment, that is really the last hoop that this bill has to go through. So, our last chance really to stop this bill is to appeal to Governor Reynolds, to say to her that Iowa should not be the state whose reputation will be known as the first to remove a protected class from its Civil Rights Code.' Iowa became one of the first states to legalize same sex marriages, after a unanimous ruling by the state Supreme Court in 2009.
'We were known for being one of the first (states) to pass marriage equality,' he said. 'We added sexual orientation and gender identity to our Iowa Civil Rights Code. These were really important steps that we took, and now we're starting to see some of that unravel.'
Mitchell says that no matter what happens to the bill, LGBTQ+ residents in the Quad Cities will still have services. 'Here at The Project of the Quad Cities, we serve people who identify as transgender and nonbinary. We provide LGBTQ+ healthcare services like behavioral health, STI and HIV screenings and primary care. There are so many things that go into healthcare and support for LGBTQ+ people. We want that community to know, in particular, here in the Quad Cities that we are still here, our doors are open, and we want people to access services with us.'
He says that despite the insecurity in society, it's more important than ever for people to stick together. 'I would just say, right now, there is so much uncertainty. I think we can take comfort in community and in being together and in supporting one another. As the LGBTQ community continues to experience attacks, in particular trans people, it is important that the entire community, all people in the LGBTQ+ community, come together to stand up for trans and nonbinary individuals who are being impacted by this legislation. We have to come together as a community, and we're calling on our allies to join us.'
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