The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has endorsed the idea of a state law that would ban discrimination that’s based on a person’s sexual orientation. This week the state Civil Rights Commission voted six-to-one in favor of a policy that seeks to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians on the job, at school and when they rent or buy a house. Commissioners say if Iowa is to grow, it must be seen as the kind of state that welcomes homosexuals. Eighteen other states, including neighboring Illinois and Wisconsin, ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Iowa cities of Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines and Iowa City have local anti-discrimination ordinances, as does Cerro Gordo County. According to the Civil Rights Commission, gays and lesbians account for four percent of Iowa’s population.
