A cruel and unnecessary bill

Legislation removing gender identity from the list of protected classes under the Civil Rights Act and leaving transgender Iowans with no legal recognition under Iowa law is the worst bill we’ve ever seen seriously considered by the Iowa Legislature.

It’s cruel and needless punishment aimed at a tiny minority that’s already marginalized by previous legislative actions. It solves no real problem, despite the dishonest efforts of its backers to cast transgender Iowans as a threat

Transgender Iowans are not the danger. The real danger is lawmakers who want to erase the identity of their fellow Iowans and do it as fast as possible.

The bill is not only bad, but also historically bad. No state has ever removed a protected category from their civil rights laws. Iowa would be the first.

It’s a dubious honor that cements an image of Iowa as an unwelcoming state that made it OK to discriminate against transgender people because of who they are.

Here’s what the bill does, according to reporting by The Gazette’s Tom Barton.

It would strike the definition of gender identity and define “sex” in state law as “the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth.” It would define “gender” as a synonym for sex that “shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression or gender role.”

It creates a new section in state law to define “female” as an individual who has, will have or would have, “but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident,” a reproductive system that produces ova and “male” as an individual who produces sperm;

All state and local government data collection would identify individuals as either male or female.

Transgender Iowans would be unable to change their birth certificate. Current law allows this if the person’s doctor certifies that their sex has changed due to surgery or other treatment.

Bill backers argue the changes are necessary because previously approved anti-transgender laws, which could be overturned for violating civil rights.

They claim the bill is needed to protect women and girls from transgender people using restrooms that align with their gender identity. But they present no evidence that women are being accosted in public restrooms in Iowa.

Backers insist existing federal law and court rulings will protect trans people from discrimination. But it’s a smoke screen to distract from the bill’s deliberate intend to strip them of their civil rights protection.

The bill could be debated on the House floor as early as Thursday, as a Senate version also moves through the process. Taking away fundamental rights at lightning speed only adds to the infamy of this dark chapter of Iowa history.

We urge the Legislature to turn back. We implore Republicans who see this as an obvious mistake to join the opposition. The question for other Republicans is do you really want to be known in the future that you supported discrimination?

But this Legislature’s sense of shame has faded away. But don’t make life miserable for transgender Iowans believing it’s shrewd politics. The bill represents hate, so that’s what you’ll be voting on soon.

(319) 398-8272; editorial@thegazette.com