Recent events in Loudoun County, Virginia, where a father was arrested for opposing a policy on transgender students at a school board meeting, should hit close to home for all Iowa parents. Scott Smith was arrested after vocally opposing a policy on transgender students after his 9th-grade daughter was sexually assaulted in the school bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt. The arrest came shortly after the Loudoun County Public Schools superintendent lectured the public that concerns about the transgender policy were misplaced because the school system apparently had no record of any assault occurring in any school bathroom.
Although juvenile records are sealed, Smith’s attorney, Elizabeth Lancaster, said that a boy was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy related to an incident that exact day at that exact school. “If someone would have sat and listened for thirty seconds to what Scott had to say, they would have been mortified and heartbroken,” Lancaster said.
In a day and age where parents are being labeled domestic terrorists simply for wanting their children to be safe, we need politicians who will protect and defend the rights of children and parents. Last year in the Senate, I introduced a bill to do just that. Senate File 224 is an act prohibiting persons from entering single and multiple occupancy toilet facilities in elementary and secondary schools that do not correspond with the person’s biological sex. I authored this bill in order to prevent an incident like what happened in Loudoun County from ever happening to Iowa children. The bill passed subcommittee, but unfortunately did not garner enough support to become law.
The privacy and protection of our children, not political correctness, should be our paramount concern. The fact that this bill did not have enough support to pass should be a call to action for Iowa parents to be more engaged on this important issue and to question why their elected officials are not standing for the safety of children. No young girl or woman should be afraid to use the restroom alone. Elected leaders should be actively engaged in making sure that what happened in Loudoun county never happens in an Iowa school.
