This story was updated Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7:12 p.m.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that would define “man” and “woman” based on a person’s sex at birth was amended and approved by Republicans on the House Education Committee Tuesday.
They removed the part of the bill that would have required transgender Iowans to include their sex assigned at birth on their driver’s licenses. Sex change information would still be required on transgender Iowans’ birth certificates.
The vote was 15-8 with all Republicans present voting for the amended bill and all Democrats voting against it.
The amendment was made just a few hours after Republicans on a House subcommittee advanced the original version of the bill. Democrats have requested a public hearing on the bill, which would have to be scheduled before the bill could go to a vote of the full House of Representatives.
Original story published Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 4:07 p.m.
Republicans on a House subcommittee advanced Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill Tuesday that would direct government bodies to identify people by their sex at birth and require transgender Iowans to include their sex at birth on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
Reynolds’ lobbyist referred to the bill as the “women’s bill of rights,” while LGBTQ Iowans dubbed it the “LGBTQ erasure act.”
The bill would put definitions of “sex,” “woman,” “man,” “mother,” and “father” into state law that all refer to a person’s biological sex assigned at birth.
Denise Bubeck with The Family Leader’s Church Ambassador Network thanked Reynolds for choosing to “stand up for women and clearly define the term.”
“I’m in hope that this bill will help us move in the right direction because without it, we are losing single-sex spaces and resources, including locker rooms, athletics, and even prisons and domestic violence shelters,” she said. “And these things are happening without the benefit of debate and transparency.”
Emma Denney of Iowa City said transgender people like her are terrified of this bill. She compared the proposed requirements for transgender Iowans’ driver’s licenses to the pink triangles Nazis forced gay people to wear during the Holocaust.
“Trans people already face overwhelming employment and housing discrimination in Iowa under existing law, and the governor’s bill would force us to out ourselves and open us up to more violence any time we have to show identification,” Denney said.
The bill states, “Separate accommodations are not inherently unequal,” and includes prisons, domestic violence shelters, locker rooms, restrooms and rape crisis centers as places where people can be separated based on their sex at birth.
It 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.”
Shellie Flockhart with Moms for Liberty said the bill would help protect rights that women have fought for.
“Women and men are not identical,” she said. “They possess unique biological differences. This protects health and safety.”
Flockhart said she was a victim of domestic abuse, and safe spaces for survivors should not include transgender women.
Clara Reynen of Iowa City opposed the bill. She said when she got married, her spouse was not yet out as a transgender woman. Reynen said when her wife came out, their lives changed for the better.
“My wife being forced to have a different kind of identification than me is completely unthinkable,” Reynen said. “She is a better woman than I will ever be. She’s more of a woman than I will ever be. And to think that she should be treated differently because she’s transgender is unconscionable.”
Dan Breitbarth, a lobbyist for the attorney general’s office, said Attorney General Brenna Bird supports the bill because it is an “important clarification” of the definitions of “male” and “female.”
“In addition, the attorney general believes that this legislation makes important findings regarding the protection of people’s privacy, health and safety,” he said.
Kent Zimmerman of Perry said he is a proud single, gay father of his 3-month-old son. He said he is deeply concerned about how defining “mother” and “father” in state law would impact LGBTQ families.
“We are better than this. My son deserves better than this, and our children demand better than this,” Zimmerman said. “I ask you to consider the impact this legislation could have and affirm your commitment to a society that values love, acceptance and equal rights for every family, regardless of their constitution or sexual orientation.”
The bill advanced with two Republicans supporting it and one Democrat opposed.
Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said it would be important for law enforcement officers to know if someone they are arresting is transgender.
“What I hear from the trans community is that they’re proud to be trans, and I guess that that would be okay to identify that and make sure your birth certificate represents those things,” she said.
Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, said the bill would take the state backwards.
“I’m appalled that the governor would put forth such a discriminatory bill targeting 0.29% of our Iowa population,” she said. “I think it’s a sad day for Iowa.”
Iowans who oppose the bill chanted, “We won’t go quiet,” after the bill advanced out of subcommittee.
Republicans on a different House subcommittee rejected a bill last Wednesday that would have removed gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The next day, Reynolds' bill was made public.
In recent years, the GOP-majority Legislature has prevented transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, restricted school bathroom use for transgender Iowans and banned gender-affirming hormones and surgeries for transgender youth.
