Iowa governor signs bill removing ‘gender identity’ as protected class under Civil Rights Act

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a measure Friday that removes gender identity from protection under the state’s Civil Rights Act.

The measure makes Iowa the first state to remove such protections, which have been used by transgender people to play sports and use bathrooms based on their gender identity instead of their biological sex.

Now Reynolds and the Republican majority in the state house have rolled back changes in language made in 2007 when Democrats controlled the legislature.

“It’s common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women,” said Reynolds, a Republican, according to the Associated Press. “In fact, it’s necessary to secure genuine equal protection for women and girls,” she said, adding that the previous civil rights code “blurred the biological line between the sexes.”

Republicans said the change was needed to preserve laws passed in recent years that ban men from women’s sports and bathrooms as well as restrict sex change surgeries and hormones for minors.

Democrats claimed the removal would lead to widespread discrimination against transgender individuals in everything from housing to employment, but Republicans called those fears unfounded.

A mob of protestors filled the capitol rotunda Thursday, singing songs and making chants, sometimes vulgar ones, in an attempt to keep lawmakers from approving the bill, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Iowa’s shift comes after President Trump signed an executive order his first day in office saying the federal government only recognizes two genders. Trump has also signed orders against DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and has threatened to withhold funding from states that continue transgender and DEI policies.

It is uncertain if other states will follow Iowa’s lead. Georgia lawmakers backed away from a plan this week to remove gender protections from the state’s hate crimes law.