Iowa Repeals All Transgender Protections
Iowa is the first in the nation to repeal legal safeguards against discrimination for a group previously protected under state law.
Over the chants of hundreds of protesters, Iowa Republicans passed a bill to eliminate the ability of transgender people to access public accommodations that align with their gender identity, as well as their ability to access credit, housing, and to obtain employment.
As the February 27 vote was taken, a spectator shouted, “Hope you’re proud of yourself!” while another screamed, “Fascist scumbags, eat shit!”
The vote, which passed 33-15 along party lines, makes Iowa the first state in the United States to eliminate existing nondiscrimination protections for a previously protected group of citizens.
Sen. Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) attempted to justify stripping away transgender protections by pointing to past court decisions that have hampered the Republican-led legislature’s attempts to restrict transgender rights.
The legislature has previously sought to prohibit Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care or other transition-related expenses, ban transgender individuals from single-sex restrooms and changing facilities, and bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Sen. Matt Blake (D-Urbandale) attempted to carve out exemptions that would have kept protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and access to credit, but all three amendments failed to pass.
Ironically, Schultz — the only Republican who spoke before bill’s passage — had previously accused Democrats of fear-mongering over the elimination of legal protections for transgender individuals, outright dismissing concerns over potential discrimination in housing, employment, and credit.
When Blake’s specific amendments were put to a vote, Schultz and his fellow Republicans refused to support those exemptions — even though, politically, it would have strengthened their argument by making them appear more reasonable, undercutting Democrats’ arguments that Republicans are unfairly targeting transgender people.
Blake said that the bill would subject all Iowans to discrimination, even those who are not transgender, such as men or women who don’t conform to gender norms or styles of dress.
“This is not the history we should be writing in Iowa, that a group of individuals — a group of individuals in a severe minority — that the tyranny of the majority decided to put their thumb and say, ‘You do not belong. You should not exist. You should not be a part of our culture. You should not be a part of the state of Iowa. You should not be here,'” Blake said.
Sen. Zach Wahls (D-Coralville) sought to expose Republicans’ flawed rationale, and how overreaching the repeal of the protections is, by asking how women and children — whom Republicans claimed to be “protecting” by passing the law — would benefit from a transgender Iowan being fired or passed over for a job or promotion due to their gender identity.
In response, Schultz simply reiterated talking points about bathrooms, sports, and taxpayer funding for gender-affirming care, and refused to address the employment protections that were also being stripped away, as reported by the Register.
After passing the Senate, the legislation was quickly approved by the Iowa House of Representatives in a 60-35 vote.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law late Friday afternoon.
“At a time when transgender people are facing baseless attacks by President Trump and vile anti-transgender rhetoric and violence in our communities, Iowa lawmakers should be ashamed to be piling on the vitriol with this extreme bill,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. “This is a red alert wakeup call that if they can do this to trans people, all civil rights protections could be at risk.”
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