Iowa and gay rights
Journal of Gender, Race & Justice
The Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, creed, tint, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, ancestry, disability, and gender identity.[1] These classes are protected from discrimination when it comes to employment, housing, universal accommodations, education, and credit considerations.[2] Even though gender non-conforming individuals have these protections, because gender identity was added as a protected class to the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2007, as of January 30, 2024, 13 bills have been proposed in Iowa to target the transgender community and Homosexual community as a whole.[3] On Wednesday, January 31, the Iowa House of Representatives held a hearing for House File 2802.[4] This bill, proposed by Representative Jeff Shipley, would remove gender identity from Iowa’s Civil Rights Execute and would also include gender dysphoria or any condition related to a gender identity disorder as a disability category to the Iowa Civil Rights Act.[5] Shipley believes the Civil Rights Act is very powerful and wants the legislature to mention the legal questions regarding accommodations for tran
Quick Hits
- Iowa Governor Reynolds signed a bill into law that removes “gender identity” as a protected class under the state’s civil rights code.
- The law further defines gender as binary, requires birth certificates to point out sex, and restricts teaching about “gender theory” from kindergarten through sixth grade.
- The enactment further amends the law to specifically state that “separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.”
Senate File (SF) 418, which takes influence on July 1, 2025, removes “gender identity” as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment, wages, widespread accommodations, housing, knowledge, and credit practices. The new statute makes it more difficult for trans individuals to carry claims alleging discrimination or harassment in state court. Furthermore, the amended statute states that “separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.”
The governor’s signature came one day after express lawmakers approved the legislation on February 27, 2025. The legislation was fast-tracked through the mention legislature, passing both the Iowa Property and Senate in less than a week after it was introduced on February 24, 2
Iowa's Equality Profile
Gender Identity
of population
fully protected
- State
Protections - County
Protections - City
Protections - No
Protections - Protections
Banned
Legend
County blueprint only shows areas with occupied protections for gender identity (i.e., discrimination prohibited in private employment, housing, and public accommodations)
City and County Numbers:
1 county out of 99 has an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on gender individuality in private employment, housing, and public accommodations (full protections).
13 cities have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in private employment, housing, and universal accommodations (full protections).
1 municipality, not including those listed above, has an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in secret employment, housing, or public accommodations (only partial protections). See table below.
28% of the mention population is protected against discrimination based on gender identity in private employment, housing, and widespread accommodations (full protections).
An additional
Iowa governor signs law removing civil rights protections for transgender Iowans
This story was updated Feb. 28, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Friday that removes gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
The law takes effect July 1 and will cease state anti-discrimination protections for transgender people in housing, employment, public accommodations and more.
Reynolds said in a video expression that the recent law is needed to prevent courts from overturning Iowa’s other laws that restrict transgender rights in school bathrooms and sports teams.
"These commonsense protections were at risk because before I signed this bill, the civil rights code blurred the organic line between the sexes," she said. "It has also forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries. And that’s unacceptable to me, and it’s unacceptable to most Iowans."
Reynolds said the law is necessary to "strengthen protections for women and girls."
Max Mowitz, executive director of LGBTQ rights organization One Iowa, said this makes Iowa the first state to roll back civil rights protections for an entire protected class.
"Gov. Reynolds