As a dad, I struggle with the idea that my daughter should have to use the bathroom stall next to a 40-year-old man who thinks he is a woman.
But that is the reality here in Iowa. And Republican state representatives like Rep. Joe Mitchell don’t seem to have a problem with it. They refuse to support efforts to strip gender identity out of the civil rights code. They say there are other solutions to the problem.
Yet, after years of the “problem” existing, none of these other solutions have ever been offered in the Iowa House.
It makes one wonder if they believe this bathroom anarchy is a problem at all or if they think it’s just how things should be.
Mitchell cited Republican State Rep. Steve Holt as one reason he doesn’t think gender identity needs to be removed from the civil rights code. But in doing so, he never mentioned these “other solutions” that the state can come up with.
That’s because there really isn’t one.
The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled taxpayer dollars can indeed be used for sex-change surgeries because of gender identity being a protected class. They’ve also issued a ruling relating to bathroom use at an employer’s place of business being allowed to be based on gender identity rather than biology.
Every time there has been an issue related to gender identity and bathroom usage, the city, school or county dealing with it cites the same thing — gender identity being a protected class in Iowa — as a reason they cannot intervene and restore some form of sanity.
The only people who can fix this are the 100 legislators in the Iowa House and 50 legislators in the Iowa Senate.
But there simply are not enough in the Iowa House willing to tackle the travesty of allowing biological men to use the bathroom stall next to my daughter, your daughter or your granddaughter.
Nope. Republican lawmakers simply do not care — well, not enough of them, anyway.
Tell them about Loudon County in Virginia. Tell them about the girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted in the school bathroom by a biological boy identifying as a girl in the restroom.
Doesn’t matter.
They’re not willing to tackle the problem. Not willing to be labeled as bigots or homophobes or transphobes — whatever phobia the media will use to slander them.
Bottom line is there is no excuse for Republicans to keep gender identity in the civil rights code. There is no excuse for a state like Iowa — where Republicans have had full control of the state government for six years — forcing young girls to share bathrooms with grown men who think they are women. Or providing protections for biological boys to use female locker rooms and showers in schools.
And, when the actual females are uncomfortable, they are the ones who require special accommodations — not the person creating the discomfort.
Representative Jeff Shipley is willing to be a vocal leader on this issue. He’s willing to take the arrows and fight the good fight.
Joe Mitchell isn’t. He has publicly stated as much multiple times. What Mitchell will do, though, is attend events with the Log Cabin Republicans — who want gender identity and sexual orientation to be a protected class nationally. And they want to ban conversion therapy for minors. Those are two very reckless positions.
This is the biggest issue in this race. One legislator is willing to look out for our daughters and granddaughters, the other is content with your little girl having a 40-year-old man in a skirt using the bathroom stall right beside her.
When there is this kind of contrast in a race, ask yourself which person you can trust? The one who wants your daughter to use a bathroom stall next to a 40-year-old man who thinks he is a woman? Or the one committed to stopping it?
This is what those of us here on Earth call a “layup” when it comes to politics and basic biology. Pick the guy who is willing to “follow the science” and defend a child’s innocence.
Pick Jeff Shipley.
