William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

A divided Iowa Senate voted Tuesday to add transgender individuals to the list of people protected under the state's hate crimes laws, which carry enhanced punishment for convictions.

Senate File 2284 was approved on 27-21 vote with Sen. Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, joining all 26 Democrats in voting yes. All the no votes were cast by Republicans.

The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled Iowa House, where it probably won't be debated and will likely be declared dead this session. Rep. Greg Heartsill, R-Columbia, a leading House social conservative, said he doubts the Senate measure has sufficient support to pass the House. In addition, Heartsill said he does not believe there is time for the House to consider the proposal before a key legislative deadline is reached this week.

Much of the Senate debate focused on an unsuccessful attempt by Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, to add the unborn to the list of Iowans protected by the state's hate crime laws. Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, rose twice on the Senate floor and tried to stop Chapman from giving detailed descriptions of how abortions are performed, saying it wasn't relevant to the debate.

Chapman then ignored a directive from Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, to confine his remarks to how unborn status should be included in Iowa's hate crime law. Chapman insisted his remarks were relevant, but about a dozen Democrats, including Bisignano, were absent from the Senate chamber as he continued to speak about the mechanics of abortions.

"I am saddened that this body has failed in its most basic responsibility: … a right to life," Chapman said.

Finally, Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who managed the hate crimes bill, asked Jochum to rule that Chapman's amendment seeking protection for the unborn was not germane to the bill. Jochum agreed with McCoy, so the Senate did not vote on the amendment.

McCoy, the only openly gay member of the Iowa Senate, spoke passionately in support of the hate crimes bill. He said Iowa's current hate crime statute covers race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, age and disability, but it does not protect transgender individuals.

"These are are oftentimes the most marginalized people in our society. These are people who are targets of violence all the time,” McCoy said.

Iowa is a difficult place to live for transgender people, McCoy said. Transgender people in Iowa are fearful of reporting violence against them because of exposure about having their names made public and having their stories told in the paper, he added.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, we need to pass the hate crimes bill. We need to apply it to transgender individuals and we need to do it now," McCoy said in a plea to his fellow lawmakers.

The bill would amend state law to modify a hate crime to include offenses committed against a person or a person's property because of a person's gender identity or gender expression or because of the person's association with a person of a certain gender identity or gender expression.

Transgender persons have been protected under Iowa's civil rights laws since 2007 under legislation signed by Gov. Chet Culver. The 2007 bill prohibited discriminatory employment, public accommodation, housing, education and credit practices based upon a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Iowa’s civil rights law had already included race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, ancestry or disability.

Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, unsuccessfully tried to amend the hate crimes bill during Tuesday's debate, saying that all Iowans should be treated equally. He said there is no special class of citizens in the Iowa Constitution and everyone should be protected by the same laws.

"We should not be picking who is hated and who is not hated," Chelgren added.

McCoy opposed Chelgren's amendment, saying it would destroy the concept of a hate crime statute. The purpose of the legislation, he added, was to narrowly define hate crimes based on people being specifically targeted and abused because of their individual characteristics.

Several groups issued statements after the Iowa Senate's vote to praise the bill's passage.

"The Iowa Senate again came down on the right side of history.” said Donna Red Wing, executive director of One Iowa, the state's largest gay and lesbian rights organization. “For almost a year, we have spoken to Iowans about the need for the addition of gender identity and gender expression to the hate crimes law. Almost 1,500 Iowans signed our petition and today the Iowa Senate showed real leadership and a commitment to equality."

Nate Monson, executive director of Iowa Safe Schools, which works to protect transgender students and others, urged the Iowa House to support the Senate measure. "This hate crimes bill will save the lives of many transgender youth across our state," he added.

Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, thanked McCoy for his leadership on the bill. "It is a good day in Iowa when our elected officials take seriously our state’s responsibility to help some of its most vulnerable residents,” she said.