Is this what making ‘every effort to live in peace with everyone’ looks like in Iowa?

Amber Gustafson regrets not having stood up and walked out of her church 10 years ago. She tearfully recounted how the pastor and elders got up in front of the entire congregation to shun a former member. “They specifically mentioned her name. They said they went to her and told her to stop being a lesbian, and that we were not to have any contact with her unless it is to get her to repent.”

The Ankeny mother of three recounts being stunned, having just finished singing a song about the glory and love of God. This occurred before her child came out to her, but she recalls thinking. “I don’t understand a God that would punish someone for loving someone else too much.”

Amber and her family are one of thousands who will be immediately affected by Senate File 2095, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Iowa is in position to join 18 other states, mostly southern, to pass the RFRA. This bill is awaiting Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature and is expected to further erode civil rights in Iowa.Alexandra St. James Gray is an artist and creative from Des Moines. “I think this bill will impact the community. It will deny people access to a lot of things — work, housing, access to financial services — it could affect all aspects of life.”

Gray is concerned about the lack of precise language in the bill “Its wording is very vague — it is left up to the individual who would be executing it.” Indeed, for the most part the bill is vague, and cites the need to avoid government actions that are “substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion.” What has not been sufficiently proven is the need for Iowa to have this law in addition to the federal RFRA. Iowa’s law is ambiguous enough to justify critics’ concern that it will likely result in discrimination against LGTBQA+ communities and communities of color.

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And it goes farther in its clause that defines exercise of religion is acting in a manner “by one’s sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief.”

Talk about a blank check.

Gray worries about the broad ways this bill could be applied to communities across Iowa. “We are repeating moments in history — the Bible says slaves obey thy master — this justifies slavery. We have a group of people who want to have a reason — they want to say it goes against my religion. This bill will affect all Iowans across the board.” She stresses the urgency. “I wake up every morning and wonder who is on the chopping block. It is not a safe space.”

Gustafson struggles to understand how Iowa is passing bills that target her child and other families like theirs in the name of religion. “For someone who has grown up in church I don’t understand how this squares. If it is about protecting their own integrity or salvation — once you give your life to Christ you are sealed — giving medical care to trans people will not jeopardize your eternal salvation.”

Corey Jacobson, board president of CR Pride, talks about the unintended consequences the bill will have on Iowa’s economy and population drain. “It’s going to come to economics soon. I recently had opportunity to talk to graduating high school seniors. One student had a full ride scholarship to University of Iowa and a partial scholarship to the University of Minnesota. I asked their plans, and they said I am going to Minnesota. They would rather take out student loans to feel safe.” These are the choices our youth are making, “They passed up a full scholarship and will be away from their immediate family.”

Gustafson says we have real problems to tackle. “My frustration is that Iowa has so many issues we need to deal with — the quality of our schools is falling — public schools have to do more with less, our nursing homes are falling apart. Session is only 100 days, and there has been no bill to address mental health, the nursing homes problems, and we have not yet passed a school budget bill — this is how they want to spend their time?”

Both Gustafson and Gray encourage Iowans to vote. Gray urges Iowans to pay close attention to the laws we are making into law, and who is passing them. “The bills are the same levels of discrimination and elimination tactics of Nazi Germany. We started censoring education and books. We started writing laws to isolate people. We have taken food away from children.”

Jacobson agrees about the need for better representation, and cites the importance that community support brings. He also lauds the that Cedar Rapids has done to become a welcoming community. “I am really proud of the relationship with the city of Cedar Rapids and CRPD and being able to provide safe spaces. The LGBTQIA+ community has not always had great relationships with police officers.”

Jacobson continues to have hope for Iowa. “I want people to know that even though there is a lot happening in the Legislature, that the people of Iowa are welcoming. There are pride festivals in small towns that you didn’t see five years ago. These events continue to grow in size every year.” There are also simple things that he urges Iowans to do to mitigate these laws. “The best thing is get to know people — break those stereotypes and come with a dialogue of respect. In daily life I have to talk to people who don’t agree with me, but I can have civil dialogue and we can walk away with a positive interaction I hope they take with them into future interactions. I hope this can lead to little changes.” He also encourages Iowans to list their business on the affirming business registry or partner with CR Pride.

And Gustafson has a plea to our lawmakers as we continue this legislative session. “Please address issues that are actually impacting families.”

Chris Espersen is a Gazette Editorial Fellow. chris.espersen@thegazette.com