DES MOINES – An Republican legislator from Klemme has introduced two bills this Legislative session that would curb the rights of LGBTQ persons.
Senator Dennis Guth (R-Klemme) released both SF2193 and SF2194, bills that would create sweeping exemptions to the Iowa Civil Rights Act and potentially undermine protections for LGBTQ Iowans. The bills, if passed, may allow discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans by denial of housing, medical care, counseling, marriage licenses, employment, adoption, foster care, and more.
One Iowa Action – organization working to preserve and advance the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) Iowans through grassroots efforts, voter education and advocacy – Executive Director Courtney Reyes condemned the legislation in the following statement:
“We thought we had seen the worst anti-LGBTQ legislation we could imagine last week, but Senator Guth has proved us wrong. Allowing broad discrimination against women and LGBTQ Iowans in this way is horrific, and we will not stand for it. This lays bare the intention of religious exemption legislation: to allow discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans and to elevate a certain set of religious beliefs above all others.
Single mothers should be able to rent apartments, transgender Iowans should be able to get the counseling they need, and gay Iowans should be able to keep their jobs regardless of their sexual orienation. All of this and more would be in jeopardy under Senator Guth’s bills, and we call on the Iowa Legislature to reject this blatantly discriminatory measure.”
Guth is serving second term in the Iowa Senate. He is a professional farmer at Guth Farms, Inc. He’s a member of Corn and Soybean Associations and the NRA and Co-founder of LUV IA.