Seismic social change sometimes starts at a dive bar. In the summer of 1969, a spontaneous uprising that began outside the Stonewall Inn inspired the gay rights movement and eventually transformed the ways we think about gender and sexuality. The University of Iowa is honoring the 50 years that passed since that formative event with a […]
With Iowa City Pride Week still five months away, the community could use a dose of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. Iowa City Pride will host their annual Mr. and Miss Iowa City competition at Studio 13 on Sunday. Last year, Hazy Buchanan, a drag queen who identifies as a woman, both in and outside of drag, was dubbed Miss Iowa City.
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The amount of money the state of Iowa will have to foot because Gov. Terry Branstad violated the state’s anti-LGBTQ discrimination law grew by more than $3 million on Friday. In July, a Polk County jury found that Gov. Terry Branstad broke the law in 2011, when he tried to force Iowa Worker’s Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey, who is openly gay, to resign […]
Less than a week after a judge ruled a jury’s verdict, finding that former Iowa governor Terry Branstad had illegally discriminated against a gay state employee, was based on substantial evidence, current governor Kim Reynolds said it would be “irresponsible” not to appeal the verdict. […]
Since May, Gov. Kim Reynolds has prevented Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller from submitting friend-of-the-court briefs in 10 federal lawsuits brought by other states against the Trump administration. The cases involve environmental regulations, gun control, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and the treatment of asylum seekers. […]
California will impose a ban on state-funded and state-sponsored travel to Iowa starting on Oct. 4, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Friday. The travel ban is a response to a bill Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May, which prohibits the use of Medicaid funds for gender reassignment surgery that doctors […]
Gov. Terry Branstad illegally discriminated against the former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey when he slashed Godfrey’s salary in 2011 in an attempt to force Godfrey to resign, a Polk County jury decided on Monday. The jury agreed with Godfrey that Branstad had singled him out because Godfrey is gay, and awarded him $1.5 million in damages.
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June 28 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City, an event that catapulted the struggle for LGBTQ rights into the public consciousness. Of course, this struggle did not begin with Stonewall, or end with any law or Supreme Court decision — nor is LGBTQ history limited to high-profile protests in big cities. A dedicated group of Grinnell College students and their professor are […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that contained a provision overturning a March ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state’s ban on the use of Medicaid funds to pay for sex reassignment procedures deemed medically necessary by doctors. The justices ruled unanimously that the ban violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act […]
Update, April 26: A drag show with the same performers, scheduled for May 3 at 7 p.m., has been announced with Rich Heritage of Cedar Rapids Theatre as the host and venue. The event is free with a $5 suggested donation. Proceeds will still benefit Iowa Safe Schools. A May 3 drag show and fundraiser […]
The path to marriage equality in Iowa started with a divorce. Kimberly Brown and Jennifer Perez traveled from their home in western Iowa to Vermont in 2002 to be joined in a civil union, a substitute for traditional civic marriages Vermont created for same-sex couples in 2000. […]
In a unanimous decision issued on Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the state’s prohibition on the use of Medicaid funds to pay for sex reassignment procedures deemed medically necessary by doctors violates the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The decision confirms a district court judge’s ruling in June 2018, striking down the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) rule against paying for such procedures. […]
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