As a progressive, the Iowa Capitol Building is a dark, depressing place this time of year. Republicans in the Iowa Legislature outnumber Democrats by comfortable majorities in both the House (54 to 46) and Senate (32 to 18). They have the numbers to literally do whatever they want while they are in session. And what they want rarely has anything to do with promoting civil rights, economic justice, public education, or respect for the environment.
Progressive victories are few and far between. But occasionally a ray of hope shines through the windows of the Rotunda. A couple weeks ago, the amazing people at One Iowa pulled off a surprise win that shows that individuals can make a difference; that activists can influence their legislators’ votes on specific bills and issues.
In January and February, Iowa Senators and Representatives filed fourteen anti-LGBTQ bills. Not one of them survived the first funnel. Not One. Despite their unassailable majority, conservatives utterly failed to move any of them out of their respective committees. How is that possible?
One Iowa Action sounded the alarm, sent out action alerts, and Iowa citizens responded in numbers that sent a chill down the spines of the GOP leadership. That’s how. Keenan Crow and Courtney Reyes explain it all in this video and describe each of the bills. Please give it a watch. It was a wild ride.
A couple points stood out for me as an activist.
Evangelicals filed a series of bills designed to strip LGBTQ Iowans of their basic rights. One of them was HF 2164, an act to remove gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Several civil rights groups led by One Iowa Action asked their members to call Representative Steven Holt, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, urging him to oppose this bill. In less than 24 hours, Mr. Holt cried uncle, promising that this bill would never make it out of the subcommittee.
On February 7, One Iowa Action sent out another action alert to their members to contact their individual legislators about about the onslaught of bigoted bills. By February 10, they had 850 email responses.
Legislators filed bigoted, regressive bills, activists sounded the alarm, Iowans responded, and the legislators listened — probably in fear for their jobs in their next election.
Don’t give up hope folks. Don’t throw up your hands in dispair. One Iowa just proved that your phone calls, your emails, your voice can make a difference. Be inspired by that ray of sunshine in the Statehouse. Reflect it back onto your congress critters and make them see the light of reason.
By Robert Cook
Activism Chair, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers
