Iowa Republicans back a bill that would strip gender identity from the state’s civil rights code

DES MOINES, Iowa — Several protesters were arrested Monday at the Iowa state Capitol, where shouts of “trans rights are human rights” reverberated throughout the building as Republican lawmakers advanced a bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity. Iowa’s civil rights law protects against discrimination in employment, wages, public accommodations, housing, education and credit practices based on a person’s race, color, creed, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or disability status. In a statement, House Speaker Pat Grassley said the full Republican caucus is considering the issue this year after a court decision cited the gender identity protection in civil rights code, threatening recently enacted “common sense” policies meant to protect such spaces. The Iowa bill would remove gender identity as a protected class and explicitly define female and male, as well as gender, which would be considered a synonym for sex and “shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.” About half of U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights code to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank.