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Every single Iowan deserves to have their human rights protected and to be treated with dignity and respect.
HSB242 does not take away any basic rights from transgender Iowans, nor does it legalize discrimination. At least 27 states do not have gender identity specified in their civil rights code and neither does the federal civil rights code. Current Iowa code actually results in the infringement of many other Iowans’ rights, particularly women. I believe we must take action.
Over the past few years, the Iowa Legislature has passed a number of common sense policies at the urging of Iowans, such as protections for girls’ sports, locker rooms, and restrooms, and prohibiting gender affirming care for minors. I have reached the conclusion that these policies that are overwhelmingly supported by Iowans are at risk of being struck down in court so long as gender identity remains a protected class in Iowa code.
Iowans are also paying for gender-affirming care and gender reassignment surgeries as a result of gender identity being a protected class. In Good v. Iowa Department of Human Services (2019), the Court ruled that taxpayers must fund gender affirming care because our civil rights law includes gender identity as a protected class.
So long as gender identity remains in Iowa Code, the other common-sense policies we have passed on this issue are at risk of suffering the same fate in court.
This is why I believe that we must act.
