Iowans Are Backing Trans People After Lawmakers Legalized Discrimination
Large protests at the Capitol were just the first signal of sustained public support for trans rights.
by Valorie Van-Dieman
Businesses across Iowa have pledged to stand behind trans inclusion and, in one major city, the organizers of Trans Day of Visibility are expanding events to encompass an entire week. Less than a month after Iowa lawmakers adopted an unprecedented rollback of civil rights protections, it’s become clear that the large protests at the Capitol that day were just the first signal of sustained public support for trans rights.
“We want people to know that they're not alone,” said Max Mowitz, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group One Iowa, which organized the business pledge drive. More than 1,000 businesses have already signed on to the pledge to support trans equality and maintain welcoming, inclusive places.
Hundreds of protesters had filled the Capitol Rotunda late last month when lawmakers pushed through a measure that removed gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, effectively legalizing discrimination against trans people as of July 1. The vote was the first of its type in the nation, stripping civil rights from a previously protected class.
Shortly after the bill’s passage, One Iowa put the word out for businesses to stand in support of trans people. In an interview with Assigned Media, Mowitz said the group wanted to bring the message of equality to the local level. “We wanted folks that live in rural Iowa to see the name of their local deli and think, OK, I have a place there.”
One Iowa, founded in 2006, focused its advocacy on marriage equality in its early years and eventually expanded its work to cover civil rights across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Its history in some respects traces the state’s own.
Iowa has a complicated record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. It was the just the third state in the nation to recognize same-sex marriage when, in 2009, its Supreme Court upheld the right. But state lawmakers have largely opposed protections for trans people over the past decade, putting in place sports bans and gender-affirming care bans for minors. This arc aligns closely with the state’s electoral history, having leaned Democratic from 1988 until 2016, when it turned consistently red.
“The legislature seems to be trying to push people back in the closet,” said Mandi Remington, director of Corridor Community Action Network, which is organizing the weeklong series of Trans Visibility events in Iowa City to celebrate our lives and highlight the dangers we now face. “A lot of folks don't seem to realize that on the state level it will be legal to discriminate as of July 1.”
The extended Visibility days, running March 27-31, will see a wide variety of events meant to bolster trans people as well as promote better understanding among cis people. Events will range from a community potluck, to clothing swaps, to free gender-affirming haircuts. Throughout will be fundraisers for the Iowa Mutual Aid Network so it can better serve a trans community facing growing challenges.
“This year we are really just wanting to make sure that our legislature knows that trans Iowans are not going anywhere,” Remington, whose group promotes equality, said in an interview with Assigned Media.
“I think we've had a lot of Democrats that have kind of tried to play middle,” added Remington, who is also a member of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. “They've been hesitant to take really strong stands on things that we need to take really strong stands on, like civil rights and genocide. And because of that, they are losing voters.”
For trans people, the value of community cannot be overstated.
“People just want to know that there's hope,” Mowitz said.
Valorie Van-Dieman (she/they) is a reporter and editorial assistant at Assigned Media. @valorievandieman.bsky.social