De Mine, Iowa – The legislators in Iowa became the first to be in the nation to approve the legislation Remove sexual identity protection From the state’s civil rights law on Thursday, despite the enormous protests by opponents who say this could expose transgender people to discrimination in many areas of life.
The scale was ran through the legislative process after its presentation for the first time last week. The Senate in the state was the first to approve the draft law on Thursday, on the party lines, followed by the House of Representatives less than an hour later. Five Republicans in the House of Representatives joined all Democrats in voting against it.
The draft law will remove sexual identity as a protected layer of the state’s civil rights law and explicitly define females and males, as well as sex, which will be considered synonymous with sex and “is not considered synonym or an abbreviated expression of sexual identity, or with gender experience, sexual expression, or sex role.”
The procedure will be the first legislative action in the United States to remove non -discrimination protection on the basis of sexual identity.
The bill now goes to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who signed previous policies prohibiting sports participation Public bathroom Access for sexually transformed students. A Reynolds spokeswoman refused to comment on whether to sign the bill. If you do, it will be valid on July 1.
Hundreds of LGBTQ+ defenders in Capitol Rotonda on Thursday were broadcasting signs of reading “transit rights are human rights” and chanting slogans, including “no hatred in our country!” There was a heavy presence of the police, where state soldiers were stationed around Rotonda. Of the 167 people who registered to testify in a 90 -minute hearing in front of the House of Representatives Committee, all of them were opposed with the exception of 24 draft law.
The screaming of the demonstrators who watched the vote from the House of Representatives loudly and shouted “shame!” The room was also postponed. Several MP, Iowa, Stephen Holt, who ran the bill and received a violent defense before he passed.
Supporters of change say that the current law has written the idea that people can move to another sex and gave women transgender women to spaces such as bathrooms, tank rooms and sports teams that should be protected for people who have been appointed female at birth. Holt said that the inclusion of sexual identity in civil rights laws threatens the recent “logical” laws to ban sexually converts in sports and access to bathrooms.
Holt said: “The legislative body in the state of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has an official interest and responsibility for defending the non -changeable truth.”
The actions of legislators in Iowa came when Georgia’s home retracted the removal of sexual protection from the state Hate Crime LawThat passed in 2020 after death Ahmaud Arbery.
The current civil rights law in Iowa states discrimination on the basis of race, color, doctrine, sexual identity, sex, sexual inclination, religion, national origin or deficit.
Sexual inclination and sexual identity were not originally included in the 1965 Civil Rights Law. The Democratic Legislative Commission added them in 2007, and about ten Republicans were supported throughout the two rooms.
The deputy in the state of Iowa Amy Wittal was the last democratic speaking on Thursday against the draft law that removes this protection, and she became emotional because she presented her personal story as a transgender woman, saying: “I have moved to save my life.”
“The purpose of this draft law and the purpose of every TRAS -combating bill is erased from public life and the stigma of our existence,” he said. “The total of each draft anti -rotation and gay budgets is to make our existence illegal.”
About half of the United States includes sexual identity in the Civil Rights Law to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the movement’s progress project. Some additional countries do not explicitly protect from this distinction, but are included in the legal interpretations of laws.
The Supreme Court of Iowa Refuse The argument that sex -based discrimination includes sexual identity discrimination.
Many of the legislative bodies led by the Republic Click on the age of more laws This year, the creation of legal definitions for males and females based on the reproductive organs at birth after that Executive From President Donald Trump.
Trump also signed the basis laying orders to ban sexually transformed persons from military service And preserving girls and women transgendering from girls and women Sports competitionsAmong other things. Most of the policies are running Challenge.
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The Associated Press Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.