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As we close the book on Week 6 of the legislative session, it sure appears as though Week 7 will provide some of the most memorable moments of 2025.
That’s because House Study Bill 242 was released on Thursday. The bill puts into law definitions for basic biological terms like “female,” “male,” “woman,” “man,” “mother,” “father” and more. It also removes gender identity as a protected class.
This is a bill that we have advocated for the last handful of years. And it isn’t because we don’t think trans people should exist, like the Left claims, it is because we believe our laws should reflect honesty and truth.
Over the next week Republicans supporting the removal of gender identity from the civil rights code will be called a lot of things. Democrats will claim that Republicans are sanctioning discrimination through this bill. They’ll say Republicans are attempting to “erase” transgender Iowans.
But they’re not. Rather than erasing transgender Iowans, Republicans who support HSB 242 will simply be restoring truth.
There are two genders. And, up until about five minutes ago, everyone accepted the idea that gender was synonymous with sex. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that even Leftists would hold “GENDER” reveal parties. Note, the Left claims sex is what you are born with and gender is how you feel or express yourself. Which, if that’s the case, how could anyone know the gender of any baby?
Short answer — they can’t. Long answer — they can’t. It isn’t complicated. The Left’s idea that gender is somehow up to an individual is illogical and based in an ideology that believes the individual is god.
Gender identity does not belong in the civil rights code for many reasons. I am going to focus on just a few.
First, it undermines protections based on sex. It is impossible to protect females when you are allowing males who identify as females to use female private spaces. Again, not complicated. We cannot protect females based on their sex if we’re also going to protect males who “identify” as females based on their gender identity. One of the two characteristics — sex or gender identity — has to trump the other.
Second, according to activists, gender identity is or can be fluid. So, a person can identify as a male on Monday and then as a female on Wednesday. How can society keep up with someone who changes their gender or goes back and forth?
Third, we’ve seen the consequences of its inclusion. A teenage girl going topless at the Pella pool because she identified as a boy. Women being forced to share their private space at the Forest City YMCA with a man because he identified as a woman. Taxpayer-funded sex changes. Preferred pronouns being sought by teachers for students and then kept as secrets from moms and dads.
Finally, fourth and I would argue foremost, including gender identity in the civil rights code is putting into code protections for something that is a lie.
A man cannot be a woman. A man cannot become a woman.
A woman cannot be a man. A woman cannot become a man.
Period. End of story. Full stop.
OK. Well, it isn’t exactly the end of the story yet because I have more to say…
And this is important. As we head into the next week, there will be temptation or an allure to harbor anger or disdain for transgender individuals. I hope we do not do that.
While there is something to be said for righteous anger in instances where transgender activists go way too far in their activism (and some of them certainly will and have), I think it is important to remember that in many ways, transgender individuals are victims of various systems that have perpetrated lie after lie after lie to them.
Pop culture. TV. Movies. Music. Education. Social media. The Democrat Party. Woke corporations.
Systems have not just accepted transgenderism but they’ve endorsed it. They’ve encouraged it. This is reflected in the boom of individuals who claim to be transgender.
Republicans do not support removing gender identity from the civil rights code because they hate transgender people or want to discriminate against them. We support removing it from the civil rights code because we want to help restore truth in the law. Men are men. Women are women. Again — simple.
I believe many transgender individuals are victims of one (or more) of the various systems mentioned above. Individuals who were struggling or going through a personal crisis and were conned into radical gender ideology.
Many of those individuals would likely disagree with my opinion. That’s fine. But I want to say it again — I don’t “hate” any transgender person because they are transgender. At all.
In fact, I feel sympathy for them that they were preyed upon by various systems and made into an experimental being.
Here’s the deal. We all — ALL, as in you and me — struggle with various aspects of life and identity. And while most people in this world would likely choose to tell us what we want to hear at points of vulnerability in our lives, the truth is we need people who will just tell us the truth.
It saddens me to think of the hurt and anger we’ll see on display next week as the Iowa House begins to move HSB 242. But that hurt and anger directed toward Republicans will be hurt and anger that is misdirected.
All we are doing is attempting to return truth to the civil rights code and respect everyone protected based on sex thanks to the civil rights code.
Rather than be angry at Republicans or angry at transgender activists, I think fair-minded people should join together and direct their anger where it belongs — the systems who are lying to vulnerable people about the truth of their identity.
There will be trans activists who really lash out I bet. There will be expletives. There will be shouting. I wouldn’t be floored if there was violence.
In my opinion, these will all be outward displays of pain and frustration caused not by Republicans, but by lies that systems have told to people about who they really are at their most basic, fundamental level.
The truth is that we are created male or female in His image. The truth is that there are differences between male and female. The truth is that a man cannot be a woman nor can he become a woman. The truth is that a woman cannot be a man nor can she become a man.
Here are some more uncomfortable truths. The truth is many people who have convinced themselves they are transgender weren’t convinced, they were conned. The truth is there are systems out there that can make a lot of money off transgender treatments and surgeries.
Next week is going to be a challenge for all involved. One of the more challenging truths is that I genuinely believe Republicans fighting to restore truth to the civil rights code are doing what they honestly think is best and that those who oppose such efforts are also doing what they believe is best. I honestly believe those who advocate for transgenderism do so because they have bought into what the systems are selling on the issue.
But the truth is only one side can be right. If I had to guess which side is right, I’d go with the one that is standing for truth.
A man is a man and will always be a man. A woman is a woman and will always be a woman.
At no point in human history would that be considered a controversial statement. Until now.
Sure, there will be transgender activists and other activists who totally act out and are obscene and mean and rude and vulgar. But there’s also transgender individuals who are still genuinely confused about their identity. Which is a horrible place to be.
My hope is that we can do the right thing for the truth while maintaining some level of care for those who are genuinely struggling with gender confusion. Some folks may be too far gone to convince on the issue, but I have no doubt there is a swath of folks who are caught up in the confusion and searching for the truth about who they really are.
Let’s hope next week we can somehow help them draw nearer to that truth. That they are exactly who God made them to be — a man or a woman. And the sex or gender God gave them wasn’t a mistake. It was — like everything else He gives us — a gift.
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