Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds mentioned a recent incident with drag queens in an Iowa school as well as elementary school lessons on pronouns during her speech at the Republican Convention on Saturday.
Those remarks angered the LGBTQ activists and triggered this response from One Iowa Action:
Schools across the country know that transgender students, like any student, thrive when they’re treated with dignity and respect. Continuing to single out trans students for scrutiny and exclusion year after year harms those students and does damage to school policies intended to ensure all students are treated equally.
One Iowa Action Executive Director, Courtney Reyes, responded to Governor Reynolds in a statement:
“Governor Reynolds, I’m a mom with two kids in school. I know that our schools exist to impart valuable information in subjects like English and math and to show kids how to treat each other with basic respect. Pronouns are a basic component of the English language, and using them appropriately is a matter of respect. I invite you to meet with trans students and their families and hear how your words come across as hurtful and exclusionary to some of the most marginalized children in our state.
Our state government has serious problems to address. Iowans want to hear how their leaders will create high-paying jobs to provide for the families, protect the environment, and address legitimate safety issues in our schools. Criticizing efforts to respect trans students does none of those things and only serves to harm those students.”
