This year has seen a sustained assault on the rights of transgender people from the Trump administration and in Iowa, which became the first state ever to erase part of its civil rights act. Republicans in the Legislature pushed through a bill that eliminated protections on the basis of gender identity, which had been added […]
Transgender
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Iowa becomes the first state to erase parts of its Civil Rights Act
Iowa has now made history as the first state to erase parts of its civil rights code to strip protections from some of its citizens. Despite the enormity of cutting gender identity out of the Iowa Civil Rights Act — thereby eliminating rights of transgender and nonbinary Iowans that have been in place for 18 […]
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GOP bill to eliminate rights of trans Iowans passes subcommittee and committee in less than a day
Hundreds gathered in the hallways and rotunda of the State Capitol to protest the attempt to strip transgender Iowans of civil rights and stop the state government from recognizing the existence of their identities via a bill Republicans are fast-tracking through the Iowa House. “Trans rights are human rights” and “Say no, fight back,” they […]
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‘Pointless, unnecessary and unbelievably cruel’: Rep. Steve Holt proposes bill eliminating civil rights protections for trans people
Iowa would make history by gutting protections enshrined in its Civil Rights Act for almost two decades to make discrimination against transgender Iowans legal, if a bill introduced in the Iowa House on Thursday becomes law. HSB 242 would also alter definitions used in state law to eliminate acknowledging the existence of transgender people as […]
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Iowa House Republicans advance bill making it a crime to allow minors to ‘view a drag show’
Over 100 protesters gathered in the hallways of the Iowa State Capitol on Tuesday, chanting, “Trans rights are human rights” and “Hey hey, ho ho transphobia has got to go,” as lawmakers on an Iowa House subcommittee considered the latest bill targeting transgender Iowans. According to the explanatory section of HSB 158, the bill is […]
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Chase Strangio, Grinnell grad, makes history as the first trans person to argue a case before the Supreme Court
The issues before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in the case of United States v. Skrmetti were of historic importance. Would the court adhere to its decision issued four years ago finding federal protections against discrimination on the basis of sex apply to transgender people as a matter of equal protection before the law? […]
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Brenna Bird joins other Republican AGs to threaten the American Academy of Pediatrics over its support for transgender young people
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joined a group of other Republican state attorneys general this week in sending a letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) accusing the organization of possibly violating consumer protection statutes. The Republican group claims the AAP’s guidance on standards of care for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young people […]
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Trans Day of Visibility 2024 in Iowa City includes a variety show, art workshop and rally featuring the JoCo7
There will be a rally on Sunday to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility at College Green Park in Iowa City, featuring speakers discussing the issues facing transgender Iowans, as well as a performance by the Quire of Eastern Iowa. The Southeast Iowa Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) is one of the celebrations that will be […]
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Gov. Reynolds’ bill undermining transgender rights with new definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in state law will not pass this year
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that would change how state laws and regulations are made in ways that would undermine the rights of transgender people will not pass during this legislative session. HF 2389 would have needed to be passed by a committee in the Iowa Senate this week, in order to remain viable. But the […]
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Poll shows opposition to Gov. Reynolds’ proposal to change transgender Iowans’ birth certificates
A plurality of Iowans oppose Gov. Kim Reynolds’ effort to change how the state issues birth certificates in order to identify transgender people, according to a new Iowa Poll. In the survey of 804 adults conducted by Selzer & Co. for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, 49 percent opposed the proposed change, while 44 […]
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Hundreds declare ‘we will not go silently’ as supporters of Gov. Reynolds’ HF 2389 complain trans people ‘need to go’; bill advances
It’s funnel week at the Iowa Capitol, so by Friday a bill needs to be approved by a committee in either the House or Senate to be considered for passage this legislative session. It’s supposedly a fixed deadline, but it’s really just an observed custom, because there are existing exceptions for certain bills — such […]
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‘Shouldn’t we be working on something more important in education?’: Republicans in House ed committee fast-track Gov. Reynolds’ bill targeting trans Iowans’ ID
Just a few days after Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced a sweeping bill targeting transgender and nonbinary Iowans, that bill is now eligible for a floor vote in the Iowa House. HSB 649, which the governor filed last Thursday, was approved by the House Education Committee on Tuesday on a party-line vote. All of the committee’s […]
