Protestors fill Iowa State Capitol calling for removal of anti-trans bill

Hundreds of protesters filled the Iowa State Capitol building on Monday (24 February) as lawmakers began fast-tracking a bill that would end protections for trans people under the state’s civil rights legislation.

The bill, HSB242, would remove gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, and would redefine “sex” to mean “the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth”. The law would also require birth certificates to reflect “sex at birth” for transgender people in the Hawkeye State.

The Iowa Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in areas such as employment, housing and education, has protected trans and non-binary people since 2007, when Democrat lawmakers added protections for gender identity to the 1965 legislation.

If signed into law, it would be the first time Iowa has removed a protected class from its civil rights law barring discrimination.

Youth group Iowa We’re The Future claimed that more than 500 protesters rallied against the bill on Monday, holding signs reading “trans blood will be on your hands” and “civil rights for all does not mean fewer rights for you”.

Hundreds of Iowans gathered in the capital today to protest HSB 242, a bill that would remove gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act. pic.twitter.com/LrCW2bhItc

— Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) February 24, 2025

According to the Des Moines Register, protesters filled the hallways of the capitol building.

Police intervened after lawmakers said they were having difficulty hearing the testimony of supporters of the bill. Two demonstrators were reportedly arrested.

Several Democrats spoke against the proposed law, including representative Ross Wilburn, whose trans son is believed to have moved out of the state in the wake of increased anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

“I came to the legislature to create opportunity, not to take away civil rights from any group of people,” Wilburn said. “This bill will create a problem against equal protection of the law. It’s supposed to be about opportunity.

“Don’t open this door. Leave the civil rights code intact.”

We joined nearly over 500 protestors today at the capitol. We make our cry for HSB242 to fail. This legislation attacks thousands of Iowans. Protect our neighbors.#iowawtf #desmoines #iowa #lgbt pic.twitter.com/lhln8srAUj

— Iowa We’re The Future (@iowa_wtf) February 24, 2025

There is due to be a 90-minute public hearing on the bill on Thursday (26 February) morning, meaning there could be vote in the House of Representatives – where Republicans hold a 66-33 majority – later that afternoon, according to the Des Moines Register.

The American Civil Liberties Union has said there are 27 bills currently being introduced across the US that would “redefine” the term “sex” to mean the one assigned at birth. States currently advancing such laws include Alabama, Tennessee, Wyoming and Missouri.

Alabama’s bill aims to redefine “woman” to mean a person with “a reproductive system that at some point produces ova”, while in Wyoming, sex would be “determined by sex organs and/or chromosomes”.

Since taking office, president Donald Trump has declared in an executive order that there are “only two sexes” and has moved to ban trans officers from the military, end gender-affirming care for trans people under the age of 19, and remove “X” gender markers on passports for transgender and non-binary people.

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