Tell Iowa lawmakers enough is enough with the culture war

When the GOP took over the legislature in 2017, I told our city manager, “I don’t know what their economic agenda is, but I bet it has something to do with gay marriage and abortion.”

Fast forward six years and little has changed … except the legislature devotes extra time attacking transgender youth to feed their lives into the never-ending culture war dumpster fire.

A House subcommittee recently advanced House File 8 (Iowa’s equivalent to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill) and HF 9 (The out-if-trans bill).

HF 8’s proponents, such as Education Committee Chair Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Sioux County, believe this legislation bolsters parents’ rights.

However, these rights are not reserved for all parents, especially for parents who want their children to have access to fully stocked libraries and access to knowledge.

No. These laws are made by and for a small group of activists like Moms for Liberty (Fun Fact: You can’t be for liberty if you’re banning books) who believe their rights are the only ones that matter. The rights of parents who have gay or trans kids and want them to be safe and receive a quality education, will not be a priority.

HF 9 is a particularly heinous piece of legislation that forcibly outs any child to their parents if they express any feelings of being transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming, and prevents school officials from providing accommodations and support such as using a student’s preferred name and pronouns.

After the hearing, Rep. Wheeler proved especially oblivious to the potential harm this could cause. “What I’ve heard from today from those opposing thing is bill is, Parents are evil. That’s literally what you guys were saying. Parents are evil and don’t know what’s best for their kids.”

The “Don’t Say Gay Bill’ handcuffs the public school systems from being able to provide resources to faculty and students to create a more harmonious learning environment.

As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s — I can remember that forcibly outing someone resulted in a lot of destroyed lives and careers. It’s not something that should be treated lightly. Even if a school outing a child as trans to their parents results in accepting home life, it’s still a massive breach of privacy and trust that can still result in trauma.

The consequences of getting this wrong can be dire, especially in an era where right-wing politicians have a pathological obsession, hatred, and fear of transgender people, and race to outdo each other with how extreme they can be.

According to the Trevor Project, 28 percent of queer youth reported being homeless in their lives. That’s one in four kids. One in four kids who risk losing their homes because of this law.

These bills will increase bullying and risk of self-harm and trans youth without family support are twice as likely to be at risk for suicide.

The legislators who write these bills know this and they don’t care. They are so terrified that their children might be queer they are willing to burn down the entire public school system.

In case it needs to be said: You can’t make a straight person gay. You can’t make a gay person straight. You can’t make a trans person untrans.

However, there is a lot of harm in trying.

So, maybe it is worth asking, “’Skyler, what if this was your child?’ Would you want a government official to forcibly out your child?”

Maybe it wouldn’t bother you. Maybe you’d want to know. Faced with this new information would you put your politics aside to ensure that your child was loved, supported, and safe at school? At home?

While I don’t know Mr. Wheeler personally, I’d like to think that would be the case. However, since his name is at the top of every anti-trans bill that is introduced in this Legislature, I have my doubts.

It seems Wheeler subscribes to the belief that the public schools have been infested with leftists who are hellbent on destroying America. That’s why the Legislature is providing vouchers to private Christian school alternatives that claim to offer safe harbor from that “socialist gender ideology.”

I went to a private Christian school from pre-K-12 grade. I received a patriotic Christian education that taught America was God’s chosen nation, that boys were boys and girls were girls, and that the only sanctified relationship was heterosexual marriage.

Yet, I’m still trans, because you can’t make someone not trans — no matter how much you deny it, or try to pray it away, you can’t.

I know … because I tried … and it nearly killed me.

So, Skyler, I encourage you not to be so cavalier with other kids’ lives.

To the people of Iowa, I call on you to contact your representatives and say, “Enough with this culture war garbage.”

After all, you voted for the GOP because you believed the cost of living is intolerable. Rent, housing, and groceries keep going up and wages are stuck in the 1990s. Those are the issues the government should focus on.

Tell your legislators enough is enough. Enact policies that make your lives better. Don’t ruin the lives of kids who simply want to live their lives and get an education.

Aime J. Wichtendahl is a member of the Hiawatha City Council.