21-02-2025
Gender identity would be removed from Iowa's Civil Rights Act under new bill
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa House Republicans introduced a bill on Thursday that would remove gender identity from Iowa's Civil Rights Act.
In 2007 the Iowa Civil Rights Act was expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The new bill, HSB 242, would completely remove gender identity as a protected class, meaning protections from discrimination in employment, housing, wages, etc. would be removed.
Critics against the bill say it would erase transgender Iowans' existence.
HSB 242 subverts the constitutional guarantees of equality under the law and seeks to push trans Iowans back into the shadows. This bill sends a message that trans Iowans aren't welcome in their own state. We will not stand by while the Iowa Legislature seeks to erase the students we serve.
Executive Director of Iowa Safe Schools Becky Tayler
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This is the worst bill we have ever seen come out of the Iowa Legislature, and that is a high bar. This would wreak havoc on the lives of transgender people across the state, upending their ability to do basic things like rent an apartment or get a credit card.
More than that, it removes their ability to get government documents that match their gender and legally defines them out of existence. The consequences of this bill will also serve to weaken protections for intersex and cisgender Iowans who fail to meet the rigid gender assumptions contained within.
This bill is pointless, unnecessary, and unbelievably cruel. Transgender Iowans are our friends, our neighbors, and our coworkers. We deserve the same fundamental rights, dignity, and respect as anyone else. This legislation will not improve the life of a single Iowan, but it will undoubtedly make the lives of transgender Iowans worse. We call on legislators to reject this proposal and get back to work on policies that make our state better for everyone.
One Iowa Executive Director Max Mowitz
Iowa Republican Representative Steve Holt, who brought forward the bill, said in a statement on Facebook that the bill doesn't legalize discrimination against transgender Iowans. His statement reads in part:
'Over the past few years, the Iowa Legislature has passed a number of common sense policies at the urging of Iowans, such as protections for girls' sports, locker rooms, and restrooms, and prohibiting gender affirming care for minors. I have reached the conclusion that these policies that are overwhelmingly supported by Iowans are at risk of being struck down in court so long as gender identity remains a protected class in Iowa code.'
Governor Kim Reynolds introduced a similar bill in 2024 that would have legally defined the term mother as being only female and would have required transgender Iowans to have their sex at birth and their gender identity listed on birth certificates and drivers or state licenses. That bill failed to advance.
HSB 242 has been assigned to a subcommittee, but a meeting date has not been scheduled.
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