Move to strip gender rights from Iowa's civil rights law rejected by legislators

[Jessica_Rose]

Move to strip gender rights from Iowa's civil rights law rejected by legislators

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/move-to-strip-gender-rights-from-iowa-s-civil-rights-law-rejected-by-legislators/ar-BB1hzlU5?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=f295d701b3ca4f62ac64b518fce518a0&ei=5

Story by By HANNAH FINGERHUT (31 Jan 2024)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers on Wednesday declined to advance a bill that would have stripped gender identity from the state's civil rights law, a proposal that opponents said could have subjected LGBTQ+ Iowans to discrimination in education, housing and public spaces.

The bill has been floated in recent years without success but reached the first step in Iowa's lawmaking process Wednesday, when it was rejected by three members of a House Judiciary subcommittee. As they discussed the measure, LGBTQ+ advocates outside the room cried out: "Trans rights are human rights."

Republican House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl — who is not a member of the subcommittee and didn't take part in the vote — said Wednesday that he doesn't think it would be the "wise choice" to break open established civil rights code "whether you agree with all of it or not."

"Taking that protection away would then be an opportunity to discriminate against one of those protected classes," he said of how the bill would be perceived.

LGBTQ+ Iowans and allies who descended upon the Iowa Capitol to protest the bill far outnumbered those in support, though the testimony initially alternated between pro and con. Some trans Iowans in the room shared personal testimony about discrimination they've faced and fears of being further marginalized.