Above: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Photo courtesy of NBC News.
On February 28, 2025, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill to remove gender identity from state civil rights protections. Iowa is now the first state to remove civil rights from a previously protected class.
The Buzz asked students at St. Ambrose University to share their thoughts on the new bill. All students who were asked expressed the general opinion this bill is wrong, but they also dove into different perspectives of why and what could be done differently.
SAU freshman Ava Melvin stated, “I feel like a lot of these people don’t understand that queer people, trans people, they’re not trying to push anything on them (supporters of the bill) they just want to live in harmony like we’re all just trying to coexist.”
Melvin also explained how she feels the LGBTQ+ community is being exploited. “If you want to bring a bunch of people together, you can give them a really good enemy and they’re (supporters) like ‘What is a common enemy that we have?’ and it’s like, ‘Oh well, it’s very easy to exploit and direct anger towards the queer community because they’re viewed as different.’ I think that it’s awful and it’s going to hurt a lot of people.”
Public officials in support of the bill state that it was put in place to protect women and girls from biological men going into women’s spaces.
Public relations Major Bradley Thiesen Cooper explains, “I think facilities should be required to have a gender neutral bathroom. It would be effective for most people. For example, the women’s restroom would be reserved for those who were born a woman at birth and the same for men.
“The gender-neutral bathroom would be for anyone who doesn’t mind sharing a bathroom with a different gender. America is about freedoms of choice and gender-neutral bathrooms offer that.
“I feel that acceptance is not necessarily a demand for someone to agree with your viewpoint but rather a request to find a middle ground where all feel respected.”
Public officials also say the bill was passed to protect women’s sports from those with unfair advantages. SAU English and Forensics Psychology major Piper Woodhurst says, “Yeah there is a little bit of an advantage. I’m a big science believer and all I’m saying is that you are biologically a male. However, I do not care. There aren’t enough trans people in sports. I do not watch sports and I am not trans, therefore, it is none of my business. This bill should not have been passed.”
Governor Kim Reynolds gave a public statement as to why she signed this bill. In it she says “Today, I am signing into law a bill that safeguards the rights of women and girls.
“It is common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it is necessary to secure genuine equal protection for women and girls.”
Other students who were interviewed say they believe this bill is not simply there to protect women and girls.
Two students who declined the use of their last names also say the law goes too far.
An SAU junior named Zach adds, “It’s very much a thing that like every person identifies how they are and to deny a person of who they are is to deny them of their rights as a human being.”
SAU freshman named Aliza states, “I don’t agree with it because I feel like if the government is able to change the way people view themselves, that is just not right to me. Overall, I just feel like Trump is taking it a little too far – his authority he’s definitely abusing it.”
The law removing gender identity protections in Iowa is set to take effect July 1, 2025.
Caspar Altman is a staff writer for The Buzz.
