LGBTQ Iowans rally less than two weeks after being stripped of civil rights protections
DES MOINES, Iowa — A week and a half ago, Iowa Republican majorities removed gender identity as a protected class in Iowa civil rights code.
On Tuesday at the statehouse, another crowd gathered for LGBTQ+ Day on the Hill organized by One Iowa. The group started with a march to the statehouse and then held a rally in the rotunda, advocating just after state lawmakers voted to remove the community as a protected class.
'We will fight for our ancestors, we will fight for those that cannot leave this state, we will fight for future generations because there are a hell of a lot of Iowans that deserve to be fought for,' said Max Mowitz, the executive director of One Iowa and One Iowa Action.
The rally drew a huge crowd in the rotunda with lawmakers and advocates alike encouraging the crowd to move forward in the wake of the legislation passed.
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'It appears that segregation connected to gender identity is perfectly acceptable,' said Alexandra Gray, a singer, actor, activist and advocate. 'Transgender, gender identity are the current buzzwords used to insert fear. Trans women have been painted as predators, invading women's spaces with the intent of both harming women and taking things from them like sports titles.'
Gray pointed out that there has been no representation from transgender Iowans in collegiate sports in the state.
'And while this legislature chose to make a hollow lie out of our state motto that 'our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain,' I am here to say that this is not the end because we will not be silenced,' said State Representative Aime Wichtendahl (D) District 80, from Hiawatha. 'We will not be erased and we will not be forced back into the closest because we are human beings, we are American citizens, we are Iowans.'
The rally lasted for a little over an hour with more advocates and lawmakers speaking, and the group ended the day speaking with lawmakers.
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