Iowa Lawmakers Pass Bill Removing Gender Identity Protections

The legislation prompted protests in the state’s Capitol.

A general view of an American flag outside of the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 3, 2023. Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images

Iowa’s Legislature passed a bill on Feb. 27 to remove gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code, prompting protests at the state Capitol from opponents who say it could expose people who identify as transgender to discrimination.

Senate lawmakers voted 33–15 to pass Senate Bill 418, introduced last week by Republican Sen. Jason Schultz.

Less than an hour later, House lawmakers voted 60–36 to approve the legislation, with five Republicans joining 31 Democrats in opposition.

The legislation would remove the term “gender identity” as a protected class from the state’s civil rights law, which provides protection from discrimination in education, employment, housing, and public accommodations, among others.

It would also explicitly define female and male in terms of the reproductive system a person has or will have “through the course of normal development,” while “sex” would mean “the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth.”

Elsewhere under the bill, “gender” would be considered a synonym for sex and “shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.”

Gender identity was added to the civil rights code in Iowa in 2007 when Democrats controlled the Legislature.

Gov. Kim Reynolds is widely expected to sign the new GOP-backed measure into law, which would go into effect on July 1, making Iowa the first state to undo explicit non-discrimination protections based on gender identity.

Supporters of the bill say it is needed to preserve women’s rights and to protect them, particularly in places such as bathrooms and locker rooms, and while participating in sports.

“The legislature of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has a vested interest and solemn responsibility to stand up for immutable truth,” Iowa state Rep. Steven Holt said in a statement.

State Capitol Protests

Hundreds of LGBT advocates streamed into the Capitol rotunda on Feb. 27 to protest the bill, some of them waving signs reading “Trans rights are human rights” and chanting slogans including “No hate in our state!”

There was a heavy police presence, with state troopers stationed around the rotunda.

Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat, condemned the measure in comments delivered from the House floor.

“The purpose of this bill, and the purpose of every anti-trans bill, is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence,” the lawmaker said to colleagues. “The sum total of every anti-trans bill and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal, to force us back into the closet. If we want jobs or a place to live, we have to go back, is what they are telling us.”

President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders related to gender and sex since taking over the White House on Jan. 20, including one targeting funding for transgender procedures for young people under the age of 19, and another making it illegal for males who identify as women to compete in women’s and girls’ sports.

His administration has also said that transgender service members will be separated from the U.S. military by June unless they receive an exemption. Waivers for such troops may be considered on a case-by-case basis provided there is a “compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities,” a Pentagon memo states.

The administration is currently facing multiple lawsuits over the orders.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.