Des Moines Register
03-25-07
Does Iowa want to be welcoming?
Add sexual orientation to civil-rights law.
THE REGISTER'S EDITORIAL
A March 7 press release from Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge
highlights that students are lobbying for Iowa to add sexual orientation to the
state's civil-rights code.
It mentions two by name. One is Leah Gjertson, a second-year law student at
Drake University.
She says a lack of protection in the workplace for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people will weigh heavily in her decision about whether to stay in
Iowa after graduation. "Why would I put myself and the family I hope to have at
risk by working in Iowa when discrimination protection is offered elsewhere?"
That's a good question. Here's another:
Why would a state with a looming worker shortage hesitate to send the message
that it welcomes a diverse population?
Senate File 427 would add sexual orientation to race, religion and other classes
protected from discrimination in employment, housing, credit, public
accommodations and education.
The Legislature should pass the bill because it's the right thing to do. It
acknowledges that people who are gay or lesbian deserve equal protection under
the law.
But it's also a matter of pragmatism. Rejecting the bill risks losing talented young
professionals to the growing number of states that ban such discrimination,
including neighboring Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Gjertson, who is from the Twin Cities area, said in a telephone interview last
week that she is pretty sure she will move away if Iowa doesn't change the law. If
she ran into job discrimination in Iowa, it would be a lot of work to take the bar
exam again in another state, she explained. "It makes it pretty easy to eliminate
Iowa."
The bill matters beyond the gay and lesbian community. Many young people
today want to live in a place that embraces diversity, where they and all their
friends and loved ones will feel wanted.
A lot of businesses understand this. Many have adopted policies prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. That makes it all the more
puzzling that the powerful Iowa Association of Business and Industry opposes
the bill.
Mike Ralston, association president, said its board had a "great discussion"
about the bill at a recent meeting. There was "unanimous feeling" that
businesses should take the lead in not discriminating, he said. Yet concern about
liability in case of lawsuits keeps the association from backing the legislation.
That's a poor excuse for failing to stand up for fairness. It's shortsighted, too.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Monday afternoon, and supporters
believe it will pass. In the House, the vote is expected to be very close. The
legislation has been introduced many times in past sessions, and it has passed
each chamber in different years, said Ralph Rosenberg, a former legislator who
now leads the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
Leah Gjertson is one good reason to send the bill to the governor. The other
student highlighted in the release, Iowa State University junior Matt Fender, is
another.
Fender, from Glenwood, is majoring in Spanish and plans to earn a master's
degree in educational leadership and policy studies. He can picture himself living
in Iowa once he finishes school because "it's a good mixture of small town and ...
urban growth that is attractive to me."
But he's more likely to consider another state if Iowa doesn't add sexual
orientation to its civil-rights code. That's not surprising.
Because how would the Legislature explain itself if it fails to pass the legislation
yet again? It couldn't come up with anything credible, except that homophobic
fears prevailed. And that diminishes everyone's quality of life.