(Des Moines, Iowa; Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Hundreds protested in the halls of the Iowa State Capitol today (Monday) as a subcommittee advanced legislation to remove gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

House Study Bill 242 would remove “gender identity” as a class protected through the Iowa Civil Rights Act against discrimination in employment, wages, public accommodations, housing and education. The state civil rights act offers similar protections on the basis of race, creed, sex and physical disability. In 2007, the Iowa Legislature added gender identity and sexuality to the ICRA.

The committee room was full, with a large group protesting outside. Chants of “trans rights are human rights” and “we won’t go quiet” were heard outside the meeting as supporters of the bill spoke; protesters shouted “shame” at Reps. Steven Holt and Samantha Fett as they entered the meeting.

Critics called the bill unnecessary and discriminatory, calling for lawmakers to focus on issues like housing, child care and environmental protections instead of passing legislation that would allow for discrimination against a minority group. Diane Crookham-Johnson of Oskaloosa, the former finance chair for the Iowa Republican Party and former State Board of Education member under Govs. Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds, said this bill will have a larger impact on Iowa communities than some may realize.

“I stand before you as a local attorney who has assisted in 2024 more than eight Mahaska County residents on legal processes and documents so that they can confirm their gender identity — folks who work in our businesses, attend our schools, attend our churches, folks who shop in our stores, rent our apartments and buy our homes, folks who pay property taxes to support all of our communities,” Crookham-Johnson said. “This bill doesn’t impact some unknown person over there. This bill impacts people in your districts, people in your states, and even your most conservative counties of Iowa.”

But multiple speakers supporting the measure said removing “gender identity” from ICRA would “protect women,” by preventing transgender women from entering women’s spaces like restrooms. Evelyn Nikkel with the PELLA PAC, a conservative Pella-based organization that supports removing both gender identity and sexual orientation from the state civil rights code, told lawmakers that the measure provides elevated protections for transgender Iowans at the expense of others’ rights.

Hundreds gathered at the Iowa State Capitol Feb. 24, 2025 to protest legislation that would remove protections for gender identity under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

“Because these terms are codified in our law, gender identity is magically elevated to a protected class with preferential and unfair advantage,” Nikkel said. “… Biological males with gender dysphoria steal biological women’s sports achievements, trespass on their privacy and accost them in women’s prisons, restrooms and locker rooms. We are being robbed of our dignity and respect, which is morally indefensible.”

The bill contains language that “equal” accommodations do not mean “same” or “identical,” and that “separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.” Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, said this provision in the bill “takes us back” to the time of Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld “separate but equal” accommodations on the basis of race.

Similar legislation was introduced during the 2024 legislative session but failed to advance. In discussions on that bill, speakers said the measure may not hold up to legal challenges.There are currently 23 states that have protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in state law, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The legislation is on the list of bills to be considered by the House Judiciary Committee. A public hearing on the measure was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 24.