Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa House and Senate both passed the bill Thursday that removes the words gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Both bodies debated the bill for much of the afternoon before the votes. Democratic Senator Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids says this will make Iowa the first state to strip citizens of civil rights.
Republican Representative Steven Holt from Denison says having gender identity in the civil rights codes hurts women and doesn’t protect their rights.
The bill now goes to Governor Kim Reynolds.
Holt, the bill’s floor manager, says allowing biological men to be in the locker rooms and bathrooms reserved for biological females erases the rights of women.
Representative Samatha Fett, a Republican from Carlisle, says the bill protects women and girls so biological males aren’t in sports that should be for females only.
Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, says her proudest moment as a lawmaker was leading the effort in 2007 to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Representative Ross Wilburn, a Democrat from Ames who’s the father of a transgender son, says Republicans have misplaced priorities.
