Iowa Becomes 11th GOP-Run State to Ban Transgender Women in Sports
Republicans, according to the Associated Press. The bill passed the Iowa Senate on Wednesday along party lines, KCRG-TV reported.
Conservatives argue measures like these protect the freedom of cisgender women to have a fair competition, while opponents say they further alienate an already vulnerable group.In the KCRG report, Reynolds called the new law a "victory for girls' sports in Iowa.""No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females," Reynolds said. "It's simply a reality of human biology.
Forcing females to compete against males is the opposite of inclusivity, and it's absolutely unfair."Also, the bill says a birth certificate can only be relied upon if it was issued around the time of the student's birth, as Iowa allows people to change the gender on the certificate in some situations, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.In a statement by the Human Rights Campaign released the same day the bill was signed into law, JoDee Winterhof, the organization's senior vice president of policy and political affairs, called the move a "shameful moment in Iowa's history," as Iowa has become the first state with anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people to also pass such a measure banning transgender student-athletes.
The statement said the new law makes Iowa the first state to "reverse course" after introducing its earlier protections."With the stroke of her pen, and without even bothering to meet with transgender kids or their parents, Governor Reynolds has reversed years of progress and moved our state backwards," Winterhof said.
