Policy Director Pete McRoberts of the ACLU of Iowa issued a statement on Friday urging Iowa legislators to put off any plans to repeal the Iowa Civil Rights Act’s trans rights.
According to the ACLU of Iowa, the Iowa Civil Rights Act has protected trans Iowans from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations like restaurants and hotels for more than 15 times. The legislation is effective. It upholds our enduring values that everyone has a right to equality and justice. No one is granted special rights under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Simply put, it ensures that everyone has equal rights.
The rules to change and repeal the constitutional protections for transgender Iowans under the Iowa Civil Rights Act was the subject of the following statement from ACLU Policy Director Pete McRoberts.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act’s constitutional protections for trans Iowans are being proposed to be repealed and reversed by the Iowa Legislature. Simply put, this could happen. We urge state legislators to halt this request in its tracks because the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa strongly opposes it.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act has protected trans Iowans from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations like restaurants and hotels for more than 15 times. The legislation is effective. It was long overdue when it was passed. It means that everyone is entitled to our enduring principles of fairness and equality. No one is granted special rights under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Rather, it ensures that everyone has equal rights. It’s that straightforward: all are entitled to justice under the law. Nothing more or less is needed.
“Removing people’s rights is fundamentally against our values and our history.” However, that is precisely what this request accomplishes. That is impossible to reconcile with our state motto, “Our Liberties We Prize,” as well as our values. We will defend our rights. It is a violation of our past and who we are to deny our people their rights.
This suggestion harms individuals. It means that as long as the discriminating party claims they are doing it because they identify as transgender, they can be fired, denied employment, given a house, or even given a hotel room without cause. That is unacceptable.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act must remain in its current form. The state of Iowa has no right, no legality, and no authority to revoke anyone’s rights. In fact, the opposite is true: those with political power must instead defend and protect our collective rights. That is what every Iowan expects from their elected officials, not just because it’s right but also because our Constitution demands it.
The civil rights of Iowans are worth defending. The Iowa Legislature needs to reject this idea right away.
