LGBTQ rights organizations are encouraging people who need to change their gender marker on an Iowa birth certificate or state ID to do so as soon as possible.
Lavender Legal, a legal center that provides representation for LGBTQ Iowans, has seen a significant uptick in cases related to state identifying documents since Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 418 into law. The wide-ranging law impacts transgender and non-gender conforming Iowans by:
- Removing gender identity as a protected characteristic under the Iowa Civil Rights Act
- Banning transgender women from women’s public restrooms, prisons and shelters
- Removing the process to change sex designation on a new Iowa birth certificate
The law goes into effect July 1.
Lavender Legal Director Kendra Weston told IPR that more people are calling to get help with changing sex designations on state documents, like birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
SF 418 also requires new birth certificates show sex, limited to male or female, that’s “clinically verified at birth.” The law also removes the process that allows transgender Iowans to change the sex on their Iowa birth certificate.
Under current Iowa code, a notarized affidavit from a physician and surgeon that states the sex designation has been permanently changed by surgery or other treatment is required. After that is complete, an amendment to Iowa Certificate of Birth form must be submitted to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. This process can take several weeks, according to Max Mowitz, director of the LGBTQ rights nonprofit One Iowa.
According to Movement Advancement Project, Iowa is the seventh state to not allow amending the gender marker on a birth certificate.
"We're not going to stop. And the reality is that no legislation can erase who we are."Kendra Weston, executive director of Lavender Legal
Weston said it’s important to make sure all form of identification match to avoid extra documentation and bureaucratic headaches, but also because mismatch IDs can open “up the door for harassment and discrimination.”
Changing a legal name in Iowa is still legal. Weston said one impact of SF 418 could be a transgender person who is able to change their legal name but not their affirming gender marker. Weston said this could lead to the person being outed and put “in a position that could be violent.”
The 2022 U.S. Trans Survey found that 22% of people surveyed have been harassed or denied a service because their sex listed on their ID did not match their gender expression.
It’s still not clear if Iowa birth certificates that have amended gender markers will be grandfathered in after the law goes into effect.
One Iowa is encouraging anyone impacted by this legislation or needing help with document changes to reach out to the organization for guidance and resources.
“For folks that cannot leave the state, we're going to be right here alongside you, and we're not going to give up on Iowa,” Mowitz said. “They can't get rid of all the LGBTQ folks here.”
Mowtiz and Weston said their organizations, along with many others across the state, are coming together to support LGBTQ Iowans.
“Yes, bad things are happening. Bad things are going to happen. But that doesn't mean that we're just going to give up," Weston said. "We're not going to stop. And the reality is that no legislation can erase who we are."
