Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds filed a bill Thursday that would require transgender Iowans to include their sex assigned at birth on their driver’s license and birth certificate and would make other changes that opponents say add up to an attempt to erase LGBTQ Iowans.
The bill became public just one day after Republican lawmakers rejected a bill that would have removed gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Reynolds’ new bill would require transgender Iowans' driver's licenses and birth certificates to display both their sex assigned at birth and their current sex when they apply to update their government documents. It would also put definitions of “sex,” “woman,” “man,” “mother,” and “father” into state law that all refer to a person’s biological sex assigned at birth. It would require government bodies that collect health information to identify people by their sex assigned at birth.
The bill states, “Separate accommodations are not inherently unequal,” and mentions prisons, domestic violence shelters, locker rooms, restrooms and rape crisis centers as places where people may need to be separated based on their sex assigned at birth.
“Women and men are not identical; they possess unique biological differences,” Reynolds said in a statement Thursday. “That’s not controversial, it’s common sense. Just like we did with girls’ sports, this bill protects women’s spaces and rights afforded to us by Iowa law and the constitution. It’s unfortunate that defining a woman in code has become necessary to protect spaces where women’s health, safety, and privacy are being threatened like domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. The bill allows the law to recognize biological differences while forbidding unfair discrimination.”
The bill also states, “Any state law, policy, or program that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex shall be construed to forbid unfair treatment of females or males in relation to similarly situated members of the opposite sex.”
When Reynolds unveiled her legislative priorities in her Condition of the State address last month, she did not mention any bills or initiatives related to restrictions for transgender Iowans.
One Iowa Action, which advocates for LGBTQ Iowans, called the bill an attack on trans Iowans, same-sex parents and their children.
“We demand that Gov. Reynolds stop her cruel, relentless attacks on the LGBTQ community and start focusing on things that matter: funding our schools, lowering our cancer rates, and cleaning up our water,” said Courtney Reyes, executive director of One Iowa Action.
The bill would force transgender people to out themselves anywhere they show their ID—when boarding an airplane, buying alcohol, voting, and more.
One Iowa Action’s analysis of the bill states it could also be interpreted to require transgender people to use restrooms that don’t align with their gender identity at government-owned buildings. The group also takes issue with the new definitions of “mother” and “father” that could cause problems for the kids of same-sex couples.
According to One Iowa Action, the bill could conflict with federal law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity at domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. The bill does not mention non-binary people.
“Over and over again, the focus at the Statehouse seems to be on relegating LGBTQ Iowans to second-class status,” Reyes said. “We have had enough. We showed up in massive numbers to stop the attack on our trans siblings, and we will show up again if this harmful legislation moves a single step forward.”
Becky Tayler, executive director of LGBTQ youth advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools, said Reynolds has made it clear that transgender Iowans are not welcome in their own state.
“Our organization would strongly suggest that the governor retake elementary civics class,” Tayler said. “’Separate but equal’ is inherently unconstitutional. Our organization will fight tirelessly to ensure our students are afforded equal treatment under the law.”
Reynolds’ bill was referred to the House Education committee Thursday, but was not scheduled for a hearing as of Thursday night.
