A public hearing starts at 9:30 today in the state capitol and, by the time it ends late this morning, Iowans will have had about three hours to testify to lawmakers about a bill to remove gender identity from the state’s Civil Rights Act.
Chuck Hurley of The Family Leader, who has testified for the bill twice this week, objects to having state Medicaid funds pay for hormone treatment and gender reassignment surgery. “As a taxpayer, I’m outraged by having to pay for that junk medicine,” Hurley said. “As a neighbor, I’m saddened by the tragedy of forever cutting off any hope of those Iowans having biological children.”
Max Mowitz, executive director of One Iowa — an advocacy organization for LGBTQ Iowans, calls it the worst bill to emerge from the legislature. “I’m a transgender Iowan. I love this state and I love the people here,” Mowitz told lawmakers during a subcommittee meeting earlier this week. “We deserve better than this. We deserve legislators that focus their attention on resources, housing, agriculture, cancer rates and not birth certificates.”
Evelyn Nikkel of PELLA PAC has told lawmakers having gender identity in the Civil Rights Code is wrong. “Giving protected rights to hypothetical terms used by delusional people for something that is physically non-existent…gender identity is magically elevated to a protected class with preferential treatment and unfair privileges,” Nikkel said Tuesday.
Berry Stevens, a 14 year old student from central Iowa, told lawmakers the bill is dehumanizing. “I deserve your protection, not your harassment,” Stevens said. “Even entertaining this bill you’re hurting me and others similar to myself…I’ve been called wrong, confused, sick, indoctrinated and, just last week, a contagion because of my gender identity.”
The public hearing is scheduled to end at 11 a.m. Two people were arrested at the Capitol on Monday as several hundred people gathered to protest the bill. The viewing galleries in the House and Senate are likely to be full today during debate of the legislation.