An open letter to my Iowa House representative about House Study Bill 242

Hi Representative Golding.

I read a story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette about House Study Bill 242, which the Gazette said would "remove gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act." It quoted a Drake law professor who said the bill would make Iowa "the first state in the nation to remove a protected class from a state’s civil rights act."

I have three kids: an 11-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old son. While I can assume they will be straight and always identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, I can't be sure. It is their freedom to be themselves and I will love them no matter what. I also want them to have the same civil rights and protections I enjoy as a heterosexual male.

Your website says you have six children and 21 grandchildren. I assume you feel the same way about them as I do about my kids: that you love them no matter what, feel they should have the same civil rights as you do regardless of who they are, and will always be treated equally and with respect.

The article said supporters of the bill "contend the legislation is needed to protect 'common sense' Republican-written state laws passed in recent years," like those that bar transgender females from participating in girls’ sports and prohibiting transgender students from using school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. I feel that their concerns about safe spaces and fairness in sports are valid. However, while I don't know what the easy solutions are, I know stripping the civil rights of a group of my fellow Iowans—possibily one of my children and your grandchildren—is not one of them.

Casey Wagner