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  "path": "/politics/states/iowa-nondiscrimination-prohibition-bill",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-06T23:10:58.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.advocate.com",
  "tags": [
    "Discrimination",
    "Gender identity",
    "Iowa",
    "Legislation",
    "Local government",
    "Midwest",
    "Politics",
    "State capitol",
    "State government",
    "Statehouses",
    "_Iowa_",
    "_**LGBTQ**_",
    "_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_",
    "_already been struck_",
    "_The new bill_",
    "trans",
    "_reports_",
    "Iowa passes bill stripping civil rights protections for transgender people, send to governor",
    "Iowa Considers 'License to Discriminate' Bill, Plus Restroom Restrictions",
    "Idaho",
    "_had been proposed_",
    "_passed 60-26_",
    "Iowa now allows anti-transgender discrimination",
    "Iowa Republicans Seek to End Marriage Equality in State",
    "_Iowa Capitol Dispatch_",
    "_large-scale protests_",
    "_Wichtendahl said_",
    "___Morrison Media Group___"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nThe _Iowa_ House of Delegates passed a bill Thursday that would disallow local governments from including gender identity in their non-discrimination policies.\n\n**Keep up with the latest in** _**LGBTQ**_**+ news and politics.**_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_\n\nProtections for trans residents had _already been struck_ from the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2025. _The new bill_ would prohibit counties or municipalities from adopting non-discrimination policies that are “broader” or “different” from those protected under state law.\n\nRep. Amie Wichtendahl, a Democrat representing the Cedar Rapids area, was sworn in as Iowa’s first out trans state legislator last year. Wichtendahl said the bill makes LGBTQ+ residents feel less safe in Iowa, pushing them toward “friendlier homes in neighboring states,” the _Des Moines Register_ _reports_.\n\n**Related:**Iowa passes bill stripping civil rights protections for transgender people, send to governor \n\n\n**Related:** Iowa Considers 'License to Discriminate' Bill, Plus Restroom Restrictions\n\n“It diminishes our ability to attract new workers,” Wichrendahl said. “This bill before us today makes a mockery of our state’s most sacred values.”\n\nSimilar efforts have surfaced in other Republican-led states. In Idaho, for example, GOP lawmakers have advanced legislation that would block cities and counties from enforcing LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances that go beyond state law, effectively wiping out protections in more than a dozen municipalities that currently prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Advocates there warn the move would erase local civil rights safeguards covering roughly a third of the state’s population.\n\nThe Iowa bill originally focused on referring local civil rights complaints to the state’s Office of Civil Rights. But removing local protections around gender identity _had been proposed_ by Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, and folded into the bill by Republican state lawmakers. The amended bill _passed 60-26_, with 14 members absent or not voting.\n\n“We’re not going to have everybody, and their mom decides they're going to have this civil rights code,” said Rep. Skyler Wheeler, a Republican representing the Hull area, according to the _Des Moines Register._ “It's unworkable for businesses, and it's just a crazy idea.”\n\n**Related** : Iowa now allows anti-transgender discrimination\n\n**Related** : Iowa Republicans Seek to End Marriage Equality in State\n\n****For years, blue pockets in Republican-majority states have adopted local ordinances to protect LGBTQ+ residents from discrimination that would be harder to achieve on a state level.\n\nAs of this month, 14 cities and one unincorporated community of Iowa had passed non-discrimination policies including protections for gender identity, according to the _Iowa Capitol Dispatch_. The state legislature’s efforts to restrict trans rights have been a point of concern for many LGBTQ+ Iowans and their allies, who staged _large-scale protests_ last year at the statehouse.\n\nBefore becoming law, the bill must first pass the Iowa Senate and then be sent to the governor’s desk for final approval. State lawmakers like Wichtendahl warn that its passage would only further ostracize trans Iowans.\n\n“Stand up for justice, stand up for freedom, and stand up for the rights of your citizens,” _Wichtendahl said_. “This state is long overdue for a check on its constitutional abuses and the reckless disregard for the rights and freedoms of its citizens.”\n\n __This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from__ ___Morrison Media Group___ __. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.__",
  "title": "Iowa House Republicans pass a bill that will make the lives of transgender residents worse"
}