Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Local governments would be banned from adopting civil rights protections that are broader than the Iowa Civil Rights Act under a bill advanced by a House subcommittee.
Governor Reynolds signed a law last year that removed gender identity as a characteristic protected under Iowa’s civil rights law. Coralville and Iowa City have adopted resolutions providing local protections for gender identity.
Katie Freeman, a member of Coralville’s city council, says the bill interferes with local officials’ ability to respond to needs in their community.
Danny Carroll of The Family Leader urged legislators to pass the bill to strike down those local policies.
Republican Representative Steve Holt says different civil rights protections in different Iowa jurisdictions create confusion for schools and businesses. Republicans on another House subcommittee OK’d a bill that says Iowans are allowed to raise guide and instruct a child in a manner consisted with the child’s sex at birth.
Keenan Crow of One Iowa, an LGBTQ advocacy group, says the bill would legalize conversation therapy.
Amber Williams is a lobbyist for the Christian conservative group Inspired Life, and she says the proposal clarifies Iowa’s child welfare law and protects parents of a child experiencing gender dysphoria.
Over 150 people gathered in the Iowa Capitol’s rotunda to protest both bills.
KIWA Staff Photo
