HEATHEN OF THE CORN
Currently the Iowa legislature is considering a bill spearheaded by Gov. Reynolds that would allow for a voucher-style program that sets aside public tax dollars to be used to pay tuition and fees at private educational institutions. The republican majority has taken to calling this policy “school choice” and “providing more options for parents”, but this choice of education does not seem to reflect the situation in the state.
Two bills have been filed in the Iowa Senate related to Coronavirus and pandemic mandates, Senate File 45 and Senate File 91. Both bills would make it harder for Iowa to enforce science-based public health measures promoted by the Federal Government.
Senate File 99, “an act relating to immunization information requested on a medical examiner investigation form,” is an anti-vax dream.
Senate File 51, introduced by legislators who are NOT Christian Nationalists, would require hospitals to prominently post policies related to admission, nondiscrimination, and reproductive healthcare. In other words, they would have to clearly explain on their website policies related to LGBTQ patients, religious minorities, and abortion-related care, among other important matters. Catholic hospitals, in particular, go out of their way to NOT make this information publicly available. They are morally obligated to make this information available, but they do not. This bill would force them to do the right thing.
I do occasionally talk about good bills that should be enacted. I don’t really expect any of them to pass this year.The odds of this bill becoming a law in Iowa approach zero. But it should be the law everywhere.
The thing is, greater than zero means there is still a chance that it will pass. If we all do nothing, then the odds really are zero. Talking about it now can change people’s minds next year in the general election. Don’t give up. We have important things to do and lives to save.
Conservative Representatives filed two related anti-LGBTQ/anti-teacher bills today. House File 8 prohibits public schools from teaching anything about gender identity or sexual orientation from Kindergarten through grade three. I haven’t compared it line for line to Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill but it seems equivalent.
I’ll admit, there aren’t a lot of situations where teachers need to discuss gender identity or sexual orientation with kids this young, but the exceptions seem incredibly important. Imagine the following conversation in a grade school in Florida, or Iowa after this bill passes:
Bobby: “My two dads took me to DisneyLand this weekend.”
Johnny: “You have two dads? What happened to your Mom? You’re Weird!
Teacher: “Johnny, There are all kinds of families. Lots of families have a Mom and Dad. Some have two Dads, and some have two Moms. But they are all families and there is nothing wrong with that.”
Question: Did the Teacher just violate the law? Seems like it to me. Teachers Have to be able to talk about these subjects honestly without fear of losing their livelihoods. The only “sinister agenda” here is that of Christian conservatives who hate all things LGBTQ and have no problem smearing the entire education profession in order to own the libs in their culture war.
House File 9 would require written consent from parents for any accommodation meant to affirm a student’s gender identity if that identity differs from that assigned at birth. That’s not a problem if the parents recognize and accept their LGBTQ kids. But if parents are NOT accepting of their LGBTQ child, What happens then? Those kids are way more likely to suffer mental illness, depression, and suicide. This bill would compel teachers to out children to hostile parents.
That seems pointlessly cruel to me. But for bills like this, cruelty is the point.
A couple years ago, when conservatives filed dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills, OneIowa was able to muster such an overwhelming outcry against them that the GOP sponsors nixed all most all of their own bills, letting them die in committee. It was an awesome sight to behold, and gives me hope that we can successfully push back now if we complain loudly enough.
