Iowa bans cities and towns from protecting transgender citizens' civil rights

"We just believe that locals should follow the state laws, especially when it comes to civil rights. Otherwise, we have a mismatch of rights out there, and we felt that it was the right thing to do."

"Bergus said local officials were resolved to reinforce the fact that we had that authority and to make sure that our residents knew that discrimination on the basis of gender identity specifically was still prohibited in Iowa City. The attorney called the new law signed by Reynolds extreme overreach."

"The state can now take away any civil rights, and no city has a recourse for that. And unfortunately, I think there [sets a dangerous precedent]."

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation that prevents local governments from protecting transgender residents through civil ordinances. This action follows Iowa's previous rollback of gender identity protections from the state's civil rights code. Progressive cities like Des Moines and Iowa City had maintained local protections for transgender residents, prompting the Republican-controlled legislature to pass preemption legislation. Reynolds justified the law by stating that local governments should follow state laws to avoid mismatched rights across jurisdictions. Local officials, including Iowa City Council member Laura Bergus and Coralville City Council member Katie Freeman, criticized the law as extreme overreach that sets a dangerous precedent by allowing the state to eliminate civil rights protections without local recourse.

Read at Advocate.com