DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Transgender Iowans may be considered disabled if an Iowa lawmaker’s efforts to remove civil rights protections for gender identity succeed. House file 2082 would amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, ancestry, or disability. If passed, the bill would strike gender identity protections from that list.

The bill author, Rep. Jeff Shipley, said he doesn’t want to end civil rights protections for transgender people, just change how they are protected. Instead of explicitly listing gender identity protections, he wants to expand the definition of disability discrimination.

Shipley said he wants gender dysphoria, which is the discomfort someone may feel toward their assigned sex at birth, to be considered a disability. By expanding the definition, he says transgender people will still be protected by the Civil Rights Act.
However, some LGBTQ+ activists are worried that striking gender identity from the list of protections puts transgender Iowans at risk of discrimination, even if the disability definition is expanded.

A subcommittee will host a hearing for the bill at noon Wednesday, Jan. 31, in room 102 of the statehouse.