Thursday, the Iowa House advanced SF482, a school bathroom bill that forces transgender students to use restrooms that do not match their gender identities and threatens school districts with investigations from the Attorney General’s office. Because the Senate has already passed this legislation, it heads to the Governor’s desk.
One Iowa Action Executive Director, Courtney Reyes, condemned the legislation in a statement:
“When will this relentless attack on transgender children end? It wasn’t enough to strip them of medically necessary care or prevent teachers from talking about them; now, the House has decided to police their restroom usage via the Attorney General. We think the Attorney General has better things to do than check up on children’s bathroom habits – address abuse in nursing homes, prosecute con artists who take advantage of senior citizens and create accountability for corporations who mislead the public with deceptive advertisements, to name a few.
We call on Governor Reynolds to veto this and all other legislation that harms LGBTQ Iowans and benefits no one. Leadership means bringing Iowans together to solve problems collectively. This bill is a bad solution to an imagined problem pushed by out-of-state special interest groups. Vetoing these bills and working with LGBTQ Iowans to solve real problems would be a step in the right direction. We invite the Governor to demonstrate leadership and make the right choice. ”
One Iowa Action is a 501(c)(4) organization working to preserve and advance the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) Iowans through grassroots efforts, voter education and advocacy.