Gender identity law a step backward

Althea Cole's column in Sunday's March 2 Gazette takes the position that Iowa Republicans were correct in passing a bill that removes gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Cole suggests that legislators who supported this bill acted “in good faith without sinister intentions.” If this were the case, why were amendments protecting access to housing, employment, wages, public accommodations, and credit ignored by majority Republicans?

If Gov. Reynolds and Republicans did not have sinister intentions toward this group, why not ensure that basic rights be protected while addressing the concerns that Cole and others mentioned regarding public restrooms and locker rooms? One would think that a legislative solution could have been found that doesn’t strip protections for transgender Iowans from Iowa Civil Rights law.

Removing gender identity from the list of protected classes undermines the principles of equality and inclusivity that civil rights laws are designed to uphold. Hearing the phrase “separate but equal” mentioned alongside this law echoes the discriminatory practices aimed at African Americans in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Those that supported these practices then were on the wrong side of history. I believe that Gov. Reynolds and those that supported this bill are on the wrong side of history now.

Iowa was once a leader in expanding civil rights protections to marginalized groups. This law is a step backward and will not allow those that live here “the freedom to flourish.”

Chris Rolwes

Cedar Rapids