(Des Moines, IA) — Seven states have passed laws in 2021 that restrict transgender athletes from participating in girls sports activities in schools.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says “a lot of” Republicans have an interest in passing similar legislation here, but he says the key is ensuring what’s passed could be enforced by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Grassley said, “we shouldn’t just pass something so we can go home and say: ‘We passed something.’ If we’re going to pass policy, it has to be a policy that they can implement.”
Democratic House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst from Windsor Heights says these types of conversations are not helpful to resolving the state’s workforce shortage. Konfrst said, “we need to be doing things to make Iowa more inclusive, not less.”
