DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed a bill that would define “man” and “woman” in Iowa Code. The bill would require transgender Iowans list both their sex assigned at birth and their post-transition sex on their driver’s license and birth certificate.
Reynolds filed House Study Bill 649 Thursday, a day after transgender Iowans and LGBTQ and civil rights advocates and allies flocked to the Capitol to protest a bill that would have changed the way transgender Iowans are protected under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
The bill, which would have eliminated gender identity as a protected class under Iowa’s Civil Rights Act and instead add to the act’s covered disabilities gender dysphoria, died in a House subcommittee Wednesday as hundreds of Iowans cheered in the hallway outside.
Reynolds’ bill would amend state law for the purpose of “statutory construction” to legally define “sex,” “male,” “female,” “mother,” and “father” and require all governmental entities in the state to abide by these definitions when collecting data.
It defines a “female” as “a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ‘ova,’” and a “male” as “a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.”
“The term ‘woman’ or ‘girl’ refers to a female and the term ‘man’ or ‘boy’ refers to a male,” the section continues.
The bill goes on to echo language associated with the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which declared segregation on the basis of race to be legal. The bill says the term “equal” does not mean “same” or “identical” and that “separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.”
It would classify a person “born with a medically verifiable diagnosis of disorder or difference of sex development” as disabled and eligible for “legal protections and accommodations afforded under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and applicable state law.”
The bill also would prevent transgender Iowans who have had sex reassignment surgery from simply changing their sex on their birth certificate or driver’s license. Currently, Iowa residents can do so by submitting either a court order for a name change or an official physician’s letter for proof of gender transition treatment.
HSB 649 would require a person’s sex at birth to be listed along with any sex reassignment for people seeking to change their birth certificate. The bill also would create a record of any sex changes on the Iowa driver’s license for people who apply to update the document after a reassignment surgery.
Other Republican-led states, including Florida, have enacted similar policies, rescinding the ability to change gender markers on driver’s licenses and aiming to legally define terms like “man” and “woman” based on biological sex at birth.
“Women and men are not identical; they possess unique biological differences,” Reynolds said in a statement. “That’s not controversial, it’s common sense. Just like we did with girls’ sports, this bill protects women’s spaces and rights afforded to us by Iowa law and the constitution.
“It’s unfortunate that defining a woman in code has become necessary to protect spaces where women’s health, safety, and privacy are being threatened like domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. The bill allows the law to recognize biological differences while forbidding unfair discrimination.”
LGBTQ advocates: Bill would force transgender Iowans to out themselves
LGBTQ and civil rights advocates said the bill is another broad attack on transgender Iowans, and erases nonbinary people from the law entirely.
Over the last two years, Reynolds has signed into law a series of new laws passed by Statehouse Republicans impacting transgender and other LGBTQ Iowans, including a ban on gender transition treatments and surgeries for minors, a ban on the teaching of gender identity or sexual orientation through sixth grade, a ban on transgender students using K-12 school bathrooms that align with their gender identity by requiring students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender at birth, and a ban on transgender girls competing in girls sports.
LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa said the legislation will require transgender people to “out themselves” anywhere they have to present their ID. Additionally, it could be interpreted as segregating transgender Iowans in facilities owned, operated or funded by state government, according to the group.
Requiring government funded or run domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers to treat transgender women inconsistent with their gender identity would conflict with federal law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and put federal funds at risk, according to One Iowa.
“We demand that Governor Reynolds stop her cruel, relentless attacks on the LGBTQ community and start focusing on things that matter: funding our schools, lowering our cancer rates, and cleaning up our water,” One Iowa Action Executive Director Courtney Reyes said in a statement.
“Over and over again, the focus at the statehouse seems to be on relegating LGBTQ Iowans to second-class status,” Reyes said. “We have had enough. We showed up in massive numbers to stop the attack on our trans siblings, and we will show up again if this harmful legislation moves a single step forward.”
Iowa Safe Schools, an advocacy group that works with LGBTQ youth and allies, called the governor’s bill “an affront to everything we’re about as Iowans.”
“Governor Reynolds has made it crystal clear that transgender Iowans are not welcome in their own state,” said Becky Tayler, executive director for Iowa Safe Schools. “Our organization would strongly suggest that the Governor retake elementary civics class — ‘separate but equal’ is inherently unconstitutional. Our organization will fight tirelessly to ensure our students are afforded equal treatment under the law.“
ACLU: ‘Horrifying’ bill would require transgender Iowans to disclose private medical history
Pete McRoberts, policy director for ACLU of Iowa, said the proposal was “horrifying” and creates “unusual and unprecedented privacy concerns” that would require transgender Iowans to disclose their private medical history on their driver’s licenses for anyone to see.
McRoberts disputed the governor’s argument that the bill is needed to protect women’s health, safety and privacy. He said the bill as written would make it harder to defend workplace protections for women due to language that says any program to prohibit non-discrimination of women must be offered in the same way for men.
The bill 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.”
“It is completely unnecessary. It doesn’t reflect reality … and it’s not reflective of Iowa law or history,” McRoberts said of the bill, calling it an assault on the very few Iowans who have completed a gender transition.
“I questions why we’re doing this, why we’re excluding transgender people from state law — not eliminating protections for them — I mean excluding them,” he said.
Voter ID laws are disenfranchising transgender and nonbinary people as anti-trans legislation reaches record levels
Voter ID laws make voting difficult for over 11% of Americans
The current prevalence of voter ID laws—which exist to various extents in 35 states—can lead some to believe they are ordinary or at least have a well-established historical precedent. On the contrary, these laws are a modern phenomenon; the first voter ID law was implemented in 2006 in Indiana and required voters to present an up-to-date photo ID at the polls. The Supreme Court upheld the law’s constitutionality in 2008, and a cascade of other states implemented versions of the same policy in the following years.
Prior to 2006, the only time ID was required at the polls was when first-time voters did not include a form of identification when registering to vote.
Proponents of the laws argue that they work to prevent voter fraud and ensure election security. But those who oppose voter ID laws say these play on fears of demonstrably rare fraud to keep some of the nation’s most marginalized people from exercising their constitutional rights.
“Voter ID laws are a solution in search of a problem,” Jody Herman, senior scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute, told Stacker.
She pointed to several studies that have concluded voter fraud in the U.S. is infrequent. An early study by the Brennan Center for Justice found the rates for voter fraud were as little as 0.0003% and 0.0025%. Particularly rare are instances of voter impersonation, the type of fraud voter ID laws are purportedly in place to prevent. A comprehensive 2014 Washington Post study found that, out of 1 billion ballots cast, only 31 instances of impersonation fraud were credible. Even then, the number is likely inflated since any and all credible claims were counted—not just prosecutions or convictions.
“One has to wonder—if there really is no voter fraud problem—then what problem are voter ID laws trying to correct?” Herman said.
There’s a lot on the line for trans voters
The 2020 presidential election—in which Joe Biden avoided a tie in the Electoral College by 44,000 votes—is a prime example of the impact of each voter, according to Herman. Roughly 65,000 transgender adults who do not have accurate IDs live in states with strict voter ID laws.
“That could sway an election,” Herman said. “Every vote matters.”
In addition to major presidential races, equitable voter participation matters immensely on the local and state levels.
“These attacks on democracy are making it more and more difficult for people across the country to actually elect representatives that share their values,” Casey said. Record numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced this year—such as bills that profoundly impact the health and safety of transgender youth and adults—despite most U.S. adults being opposed to discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
As of September 2023, bans on gender-affirming health care for young transgender people exist in 22 states.
“You end up getting these policy outcomes at the state level that are dramatically out of step with what people in that state actually want and care about and prioritize,” Casey said.
Obstacles to voting are nothing new
Women gained the right to vote in 1920. Still, many men and women of color could not cast a ballot until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 abolished discriminatory voting restrictions like literacy tests. The 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes in national elections the year before.
Obstacles to voting still exist, with voter ID laws being one of a myriad of roadblocks to the polls, according to Kat Calvin, founder of the organizations Spread The Vote, Project ID, and Project ID Action Fund.
High-income Americans have significantly higher voter turnout than low-income Americans, according to Census data. That’s largely due to microbarriers like finding child care, taking time off of work, and accessing transportation, which makes voting more difficult for low-income Americans, Calvin said.
In states with strict voter ID laws, the obstacles are even greater. In Calvin’s mind, the cost burden of obtaining an ID—which can range anywhere from $5 to $84 in different states—constitutes a poll tax.
Voter ID laws “put a barrier in front of a constitutional right that, already, this population doesn’t get a chance to exercise,” Calvin said.
For transgender and nonbinary Americans, who already face a significant wage gap and higher poverty rates compared with all Americans, these financial barriers can be enough to pose significant challenges to voting, even without considering the other safety and logistical concerns posed by voter ID laws.
People are pushing back
Herman says more states could consider adopting similar policies to protect transgender voters.
Organizations like Calvin’s are working more broadly to make obtaining IDs more accessible to people who face obstacles. The Project ID Action Fund supports the IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act, a congressional bill that would create a free, optional federal ID that would meet ID document requirements in each state.
Project ID Action Fund’s sister organization, Spread The Vote, also works directly with people to help them acquire IDs. Beyond difficulties with voting, people without ID face challenges in almost every facet of their lives, including applying for jobs and housing, accessing health care and social services, and opening a bank account.
“One of the things that our clients say all the time when they get their ID is, ‘I’m a person again,’ because you really don’t exist without one,” Calvin said.
She pointed out that the rights of many of the most marginalized communities depend upon everyone being able to vote: “If you need an ID in over 30 states to vote, then, to me, that constitutes an emergency.”
Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Paris Close.
