Gov. Kim Reynolds signing the law banning trans girls from female sports (Photo by Stephen Gruber-Miller via Twitter)
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law March 3 that immediately bans transgender women and girls from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identity offered by Iowa public schools, colleges and universities.
The bill also allows any student who alleges “direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of the law’s requirement” to sue a school district, private school or high school athletic association if transgender girls are not banned from girls sports.
This bill marks the second anti-trans bill enacted in 2022, and the 11th state to pass an anti-trans sports ban.
State Rep. Mary Mascher of Iowa City forcefully told the subcommittee of the Iowa House Education Committee which passed the House version, “I am adamantly opposed to this bill, because I think it is state-sanctioned bullying.”
Democratic State Sen. Zach Wahls (D-37) told the Blade in an email, after passage of the Senate version through the committee, “Republican politicians are trying to score political points and pit Iowans against each other rather than address the real economic issues affecting everyday Iowans. This legislation is shameful and disrespectful.”
The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ young people, condemned the signage of the law.
“A blanket ban on transgender student-athletes is utterly unnecessary for Iowa youth, but it will have serious mental health impacts on the most marginalized among them. Sidelining trans students will only contribute to social isolation and stigma that fuels bullying and mental health challenges for young trans people – issues they already face at alarmingly high rates,” said Sam Ames, Director for Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “To the trans youth of Iowa, please know that you are worthy of love and respect, and what is happening to you is wrong. But you are not alone. We are here for you and we will not stop fighting for you.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller, the statehouse reporter for the Des Moines Register, noted that the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union has removed guidance from its website saying transgender girls could fully compete as females if they consistently identified as female “at school, home and socially.”
Gruber-Miller also noted that Reynolds was in the Iowa Capitol rotunda, where she signed the bill, telling the assembled audience that she’s connecting it to Iowa’s “impressive legacy” of advancing women’s equality. Behind Reynolds were signs saying “protect my innocence” and a transgender flag.
