Iowa becomes first state to remove explicit civil rights protection fot transgender people

[P]otesters and Democrats tried without success this week to persuade Republican lawmakers to reconsider, reflected how much the discourse over transgender issues has shifted in the country, and how much Iowa has changed.

“The purpose of this bill, the purpose of every anti-trans bill, is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence,” said State Representative Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat who is transgender.

[neewsletter]

But Republicans said they were concerned that maintaining civil rights protections for gender identity would make other state laws — like those restricting gender-transition treatments for minors and sports participation by transgender women — vulnerable to legal challenges.

…

[O]pponents of the legislation told lawmakers that they feared transgender people would face widespread discrimination and harassment if the civil rights protections were removed. Many supporters of the bill said they believed that sex was determined at birth and that they worried about transgender women using women’s restrooms. Several speakers on both sides of the issue cited their Christian faith.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here