The Cross and the Capitol, Part 4: Shattering Iowa – The Human Cost of Christian Nationalism
Beyond the statehouse debates: How ideology creates barriers, instills fear, and damages lives across Iowa.
Previously, Part 1: Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline ; Part 2: The WCN Legislative Agenda Takes Hold; Part 3: Christian Nationalist Infrastructure Exposed; Part 4 is below; Part 5 Finale: Our Iowa – Reclaiming Democracy from the Christian Nationalist Grip
1. Introduction: The Price Paid by Iowans
Sarah Martinez sits in her rural Iowa kitchen, tears streaming down her face as she describes driving three hours to find healthcare after her local provider cited “moral objections.” Across the state in Cedar Rapids, high school teacher James Wilson self-censors his history lessons, fearful of losing his license under new legislation targeting “divisive concepts.” In Sioux City, Alex Chen, a transgender Iowan of 15 years, faces the stark reality that on July 1, 2025, their basic civil rights protections will vanish.
These are not isolated incidents; these individual struggles represent the devastating human toll of an orchestrated campaign to reshape Iowa through Christian Nationalist ideology. They are the direct result of the network and agenda meticulously detailed in the first three parts of this series.
In "The Cross and the Capitol," we mapped the "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline" operating in Iowa. We defined White Christian Nationalism (WCN) – an ideology fusing a specific, conservative Christian identity with American civic life – and traced its influence through coordinating bodies like The Family Leader (TFL)1, allied groups such as VALOR Iowa and Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values (IBBV)2, activating hubs like Eternity Church3, and extremist ground troops like Moms for Liberty (M4L)4 and Turning Point USA (TPUSA)5. We followed the dark money trails leading back to secretive national funders like the Ziklag Group6 and highlighted the critical role of legal powerhouses like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)7. Part 3 detailed the sophisticated playbook these interconnected entities use, while Part 2 documented the concrete legislative output—bills rolling back civil rights, dismantling diversity initiatives, censoring education, and imposing a narrow religious worldview onto healthcare.
The speed and coordination behind this legislative push, often defying broad public opposition and expert warnings, underscore the alarming effectiveness of the network. But laws passed in Des Moines don't remain abstract legislative text. They ripple outwards, fundamentally altering the lived realities of Iowans in Newton, Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Decorah, and countless communities in between. Policy translates into barriers encountered, opportunities denied, fears realized, doors opened, or doors slammed shut.
Now, we must shift our focus from the architects, funders, and mechanics of this agenda to its most critical, yet often least discussed, dimension: the human cost. What happens to our neighbors, our colleagues, our families – fellow Iowans – when a political ideology prioritizing religious dogma, social control, and an exclusionary definition of "true American" becomes state policy?
The consequences, as we will explore through the lens of healthcare access, educational integrity, fundamental civil rights, and the specific vulnerabilities faced by immigrant communities, are not theoretical. They are measured in tangible harm, diminished opportunity, eroded trust, and a pervasive climate of fear deliberately cultivated by this movement.
Perhaps nowhere is the human impact of Christian Nationalist policy more immediate – and potentially life-threatening – than in healthcare, where “conscience” is being weaponized to deny essential services.
2. Healthcare Held Hostage: When "Conscience" Becomes a Weapon
The Legislative Weapon (SF 220 / HF 571)
A central front in the WCN campaign to reshape Iowa involves embedding religious objections into the secular sphere of healthcare through expansive "conscience" protections for providers. Proposed legislation, notably Senate File 220 and its companion House File 571, styled as the "Medical Ethics Defense Act," seeks to grant broad immunity to medical practitioners, institutions, and even payors who refuse to participate in healthcare services based on conscience8. HF 571 passed the Iowa House on March 26, 2025, by a vote of 64-32 and, as of mid April 2025, was pending in the Senate, attached to SF 2209.
An examination of the bills' text reveals potentially far-reaching consequences. The definition of "conscience" extends beyond specific religious tenets to encompass "the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles held by a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payor."10 For institutions, it includes published guidelines, mission statements, and policies. This broad definition shields refusals based on potentially subjective institutional "ethics" or "morals."
The scope of "participation" is exceptionally wide, including not just care provision but "testing; diagnosis; record making; referral; prescribing, dispensing, or administering any drug, medication, or device; provide counseling for, advise with regard to..." 11. The explicit inclusion of "referral" is critical—providers can legally refuse to even refer patients elsewhere.
Compounding this barrier, the legislation lacks any requirement for providers to disclose why care is being refused or that the refusal is conscience-based, nor does it compel referral12. This opacity allows potential discrimination to be masked, leaving patients confused, delayed, and harmed without recourse. Simultaneously, the bills offer robust protection against "discrimination" for those exercising conscience rights, shielding them from adverse actions like penalties or disciplinary action for refusals based on conscience13.
Human Impact Scenarios (Narrative)
Imagine the chilling reality. Picture a transgender young adult in rural Appanoose County, miles from affirming care14, making an appointment only to face a curt refusal cloaked in "conscience" from the only accessible physician. With no obligation to refer, the provider offers no alternatives. Their journey hits dead end.
Consider a sexual assault survivor needing emergency contraception. Could a pharmacist cite "moral objections," refuse the time-sensitive medication without explanation or referral, forcing a traumatic delay? This law would allow it.
Conflicting Narratives
Proponents, like the Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC), frame these bills as vital religious freedom protections, citing polling and existing abortion conscience laws15. However, critics, including national bodies like the American Medical Association (AMA) (whose guidelines generally recommend referral even when objecting)16 and likely state groups like One Iowa17, warn it weaponizes "religious liberty" to discriminate. The broad "conscience" definition, critics argue, allows personal biases to justify denying care.
Targeting Vulnerable Groups (WCN Link)
This push directly reflects WCN tenets: Privileging Specific Beliefs and Targeting "Out-Groups"18. The potential denial of gender-affirming care aligns with intense anti-LGBTQ+ animus promoted by groups like The Family Leader19. In a state already restricting youth care20, these bills threaten adults, creating a "hostile healthcare environment"21.
The stakes are life-and-death: Trevor Project data shows affirming care dramatically reduces suicide risk22. Yet, in Iowa, 42% of trans/nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide last year, and 13% attempted it. Furthermore, 69% of Iowa's trans/nonbinary youth considered leaving the state due to politics/laws23. Denying care has potentially lethal consequences.
Expanding Harm (Potential Scope)
The vague language threatens broad discrimination. Could fertility treatments for same-sex couples, PrEP prescriptions, end-of-life counseling, or specific vaccines face "moral" objections? The scope is vast24.
Recent studies reveal the stark reality of healthcare discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals nationally—28% reported negative experiences, and 16% avoided care due to anticipated discrimination25. Another study confirms LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely to have negative healthcare experiences26.
Rural Disparities Amplified
In rural Iowa, where healthcare is scarce (44th in physicians/capita, 33/99 counties lack OBGYNs, 60% rural hospitals lose money, 8% decline in rural primary care providers)27, one refusal can mean no access28. This worsens health disparities, turning a provider's right to refuse into a community's denial of care.
Eroding Trust
These laws fundamentally shred patient-provider trust, shifting from patient-centered care to provider-centric beliefs29. The WCN network's push embeds religious restrictions in secular healthcare, forcing vulnerable Iowans to bear the devastating cost.
While healthcare restrictions create immediate barriers, the transformation of Iowa's educational landscape threatens to shape – and limit – opportunities for generations to come.
3. The Shrinking Classroom: Ideological Battles Hurting Iowa's Students
The WCN agenda's assault extends forcefully into Iowa's schools and universities, creating a climate of fear and limiting opportunity.
Dismantling DEI (SF 2435)
The passage of SF 2435 mandated the dismantling of DEI offices at Iowa's public universities30. This wasn't bureaucratic shuffling; it eliminated vital support systems. The University of Iowa (UI) closed its Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity (AOD, 11 FTEs removed)31. Iowa State University (ISU) shuttered its DEI office and LGBTQ+ Student Success Center32. UNI eliminated its Chief Diversity Officer and DEI office33.
Students lamented the loss: Elle Wilmoth (UI) called AOD a crucial "source of resources... to help streamline where you actually need to go.34" Richelle Fenteng (UI) described the affiliated Iowa Edge program as her "main resource... to make friends," vital as a minority student35. An ISU mock funeral mourned the LGBTQ+ Center36. These closures signaled diversity isn't a priority, hindering recruitment and retention37, despite research linking DEI to student success38. The attack even extended to pressuring private colleges (like Drake) via threats to Iowa Tuition Grant eligibility (HSB 60), aiming to impose conformity statewide39.
Curriculum Control and Classroom Fear
Vague laws targeting "divisive concepts" (like SF 335 proposals)40 and restricting sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) instruction (like SF 496)41 create a chilling effect42. Fear of penalties (SF 335 proposed license revocation)43 and harassment campaigns amplified by groups like Moms For Liberty (M4L)44 leads to teacher self-censorship on topics like slavery, racism, or LGBTQ+ identity45.
The Waterloo African American Read-In cancellation, citing DEI fears over the book "All Because You Matter," exemplifies this chilling reality, forcing Nikole Hannah-Jones to host a community alternative46. Teachers report self-censoring even basic historical facts, fearing retribution. In one stark example from Texas, entire chapters addressing diversity were physically removed from textbooks47. This sanitization leaves all students ill-equipped to understand our nation's complex past and present.
The scale of educational censorship is staggering. PEN America documented over 10,046 book bans nationally in 2023-2024, with 36% featuring characters of color and 29% including LGBTQ+ themes. The American Library Association48 confirms coordinated movements drive these attempts.
Mandated Ideology & Information Control
The agenda also mandates specific viewpoints. HF 391 (passed the House in April 2025) requires schools show fetal development videos (potentially the anti-abortion "Baby Olivia" video) starting in 5th grade49. Simultaneously, HF 521 sought to remove obscenity exemptions for libraries, facilitating book bans like those triggered by SF 496 (Urbandale removed nearly 400 books, many with LGBTQ+/racial themes)50. This isn't about age-appropriateness; it's controlling the narrative and imposing a conservative Christian worldview51.
Harming All Students
This censored, whitewashed education leaves all Iowa students less prepared for a diverse world. The WCN war on "woke indoctrination," fueled by activist groups like M4L and TPUSA52, ultimately disadvantages Iowa's youth.
As devastating as the impacts on healthcare and education have been, the most fundamental attack on human dignity comes through the systematic erosion of civil rights protections.
4. Invisible and Unprotected: The Deep Scars of Erasing Gender Identity (SF 418)
No act crystallizes the human cost more starkly than Senate File 418, signed February 202553. By making Iowa the first state to repeal existing gender identity from its Civil Rights Act54 the legislature, driven by the WCN network55, sent a devastating message: transgender Iowans are not worthy of equal protection under state law.
This legislative erasure mirrors the WCN tenet of enforcing a rigid, religious gender binary56. SF 418 explicitly defines "sex" by biology at birth, rejecting gender identity57. It removed "gender identity" from the Iowa Civil Rights Act (protections since 2007)58, eliminated the process for amending birth certificates59, and added "separate accommodations are not inherently unequal" language60.
Increased Vulnerability to Discrimination
Stripping state protections leaves trans Iowans exposed. As the ACLU of Iowa stated, it removes a "lifeline for people in areas as broad as housing, workplace fairness, credit, public accommodations, and education"61. Federal protections are incomplete and harder to pursue62. The law signals state-sanctioned discrimination is permissible63.Devastating Psychological Toll
The message is brutal: You are invalid. Research confirms affirmation is vital for trans mental health amid high rates of stigma and suicidality64. SF 418 exacerbates minority stress. Iowa's Trevor Project data is alarming: 42% of trans/nonbinary youth considered suicide last year; 13% attempted65. A staggering 69% considered leaving Iowa due to politics66.Testimony captured the anguish:
“This bill legalizes discrimination," said a faith leader67.
“My trans granddaughter is terrified, as are the whole family, that this hateful and prejudicial bill will erode the rights and protections that we have come to know and love in Iowa," shared a parent68.
Victor Robbins testified erasure leads to "rapid decline in mental health and in many cases, suicide."69
Compounding Practical Barriers
Inability to update birth certificates7071 creates cascading ID issues impacting employment, travel, healthcare access, insurance, and safe use of facilities, fostering constant fear of outing or harassment72. Commenters feared eviction or job loss73.Cultivating a Climate of Fear
SF 418 fosters pervasive fear about safety and belonging74, amplified by dehumanizing rhetoric from proponents like Rep. Steven Holt from Denison, Iowa75. The state itself becomes a threat76.Authoritarian Imposition
Passing SF 418 rapidly despite overwhelming public testimony and protests77 demonstrates the WCN network's willingness to disregard democratic input and inflict harm to enforce ideology.
5. Targeting Newcomers: The Immigrant Community in the Crosshairs
While LGBTQ+ rights and DEI initiatives have faced direct legislative attacks, the exclusionary ideology driving this agenda also casts a long shadow over immigrant communities. The worldview underpinning White Christian Nationalism frequently casts immigrants, particularly those who are undocumented or from non-European backgrounds, as another "out-group" threatening their vision of a homogeneous, Christian nation. The rhetoric employed—emphasizing strict "rule of law" for some while seeking exemptions for others, casting newcomers as burdens, and promoting cultural assimilation over pluralism—creates a hostile environment with tangible human costs for Iowa's immigrant communities and their families.
It's crucial to remember the scale: an estimated 28,000 Iowans live in mixed-status families, including approximately 20,000 Iowan children who are U.S. citizens but have family members lacking lawful presence in the country78. These families are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities, yet they live under a unique cloud of vulnerability exacerbated by the current political climate. The threat of enforcement increases children's risk of mental health problems and psychological distress, impacting not just "them" but all Iowa families connected to these children79.
Compounded Barriers:
While not always the direct legislative target, immigrant families often face compounded barriers created by the WCN agenda. Expansive healthcare "conscience" clauses (SF 220/HF 571) could disproportionately harm immigrants facing language barriers or lacking insurance, especially if providers refuse care or translation assistance without referral80. The dismantling of university DEI offices (SF 2435) might remove support systems vital for immigrant students navigating complex academic and social environments. Educational censorship efforts (HF 521, SF 496 impacts) risk erasing immigrant histories and perspectives from the classroom, hindering belonging for students and understanding for their peers.
Climate of Fear & Eroding Trust:
The harsh rhetoric surrounding targeted groups like LGBTQ+ individuals sends a chilling message to all marginalized communities, including immigrants. When the state government actively strips rights from one group, it signals that others could be next. This erodes trust in institutions and can deter immigrants from accessing essential services, reporting crimes, or participating fully in civic life for fear of negative repercussions or entanglement with enforcement81.
Illustrative Tactics (Drawing Parallels):
While specific federal tactics (like the reported DOGE task force aiming to administratively cancel SSNs82) are not current Iowa state law, they illustrate the mindset of leveraging administrative systems for exclusion when ideology demands it. The potential for using cross-agency data sharing (DHS, SSA, IRS, HHS)83 to bypass due process and inflict "financial death"84 highlights how systems can be weaponized against vulnerable populations. Though state and federal laws differ, the approach resonates with the broader WCN goal of targeting "out-groups"85.
The human cost for immigrant Iowans in this climate is measured in heightened anxiety, barriers to essential services, fear for family members, and the feeling of being unwelcome or unsafe in their own communities. They, too, bear the burden when an exclusionary ideology captures state power.
6. Fracturing Iowa: The Collective Cost of Imposed Ideology
The harms ripple outwards, damaging Iowa's social fabric, economy, and democracy itself.
Erosion of Trust & Community
Targeting communities poisons civic discourse and erodes trust in institutions86. Iowa's reputation for pragmatism is undermined by legislation perceived as hateful and divisive.
Economic Self-Sabotage
Intolerance fuels "brain drain" and deters investment87. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws (SF 418) and DEI attacks (SF 2435) create a hostile environment, hindering talent recruitment, especially in vital sectors like healthcare and research88. This risks economic boycotts, similar to those seen in Indiana and North Carolina after discriminatory laws were passed89. While Iowa previously benefited economically from LGBTQ+ inclusion90, these laws reverse progress. Even some businesses recognize the threat, contrasting the Iowa State Bar Association's reaffirmation of DEI91. With only 67 workers per 100 open jobs92, unwelcoming policies actively sabotage Iowa's needed growth.
Undermining Democratic Values
The reliance on dark money (Ziklag)93, the blatant disregard for public dissent (SF 418 protests)94, the use of state power used to strip minority rights95, the attempts to control information in education96, and the installation of ideological allies challenge core democratic principles. Accountability, pluralism, minority rights, and the fundamental promise of equal protection are all under assault.
The human cost is measured not only in direct suffering but also in broader damage to Iowa's reputation, economy, and democratic soul – a steep price for allowing extremism to capture state power.
7. Conclusion: Counting the Cost, Finding the Resolve
The evidence paints a grim picture. The "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline," fueled by White Christian Nationalism, delivers legislation inflicting profound harm. Denied healthcare, censored classrooms, stripped civil rights, and pervasive fear – these are the devastating human consequences unfolding across Iowa. The heartbreaking mental health statistics97, chilling self-censorship98, and stark legal erasure99 stand as testament to this agenda's steep human cost.
As this investigation has revealed, the human cost extends far beyond legislative text:
Denied healthcare and eroded doctor-patient trust
Censored classrooms and diminished educational opportunities
Systematic erasure of civil rights protections
A pervasive climate of fear and uncertainty for targeted groups and allies
This reality fundamentally challenges Iowa's identity and undermines the very foundations of Democracy's Promise100—the promise of equal rights, opportunity, and belonging for all.
Yet, despair is not the answer. Resistance is blossoming. Targeted Iowans and their allies refuse to be silenced. They organize, testify, advocate, and build community101. Educators, healthcare providers, faith leaders, students, and business owners are speaking out, demanding accountability102. They fight for an Iowa embodying liberty, justice, and inclusion for all.
In Part 5, we spotlight this crucial resistance: the organizations, strategies, legal battles, and determined spirit working to counter the pipeline, defend democracy, protect rights, and build a more hopeful future for the heartland.
The human stories are central. Please SHARE this investigation to raise awareness. SUBSCRIBE to support this work and read about the fight back in Part 5.
Works Cited / Footnotes
Turning Point Academy: Education | Turning Point USA; Iowa Online Voter Registration | Turning Point USA
Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country | ProPublica; The 2024 Anti-Democracy Playbook | American Oversight
Bill Text: IA HF571 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Amended - LegiScan; Bill tracking in Iowa - SF 220 (2025-2026 legislative session) - FastDemocracy; HF571 | Iowa 2025-2026 | A bill for an act relating to protections for ... | IA HF571 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly - LegiScan; House File 571 - Introduced
Bill Text: IA SF220 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly; Human Life and Dignity | ICC; Iowa Catholic Conference - Faithful Citizenship; Ethics and Conscience Clauses; Physician Exercise of Conscience | AMA-Code; Conscience Clauses Offer Little Protection | Journal of the Catholic Health Association of the United States
SF220: Health Care Free Speech | Advocacy Cooperative
Meeting Public Comments ; Meeting Public Comments HSB 84; SF 355 Introduced; IA HF521 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly; Urbandale schools made a list of nearly 400 books forbidden from classrooms because of a new Iowa law; The Far-Right Attack on Education: How Curriculum and Classroom Censorship Stifles Educators, Harms Students, and Threatens Our Democracy - American Oversight
Iowa school cancels African American Read-In, 1619 Freedom School steps in | Iowa Starting Line; Waterloo's 1619 Freedom School to host canceled African American read-in | IPR News; Nikole Hannah-Jones Organizes Black Author ‘Read-In’ After Waterloo, Iowa, District Cancels Due To Trump’s Anti-DEI Policies | Black Enterprise; Nikole Hannah-Jones Hosts Black Read-In When Schools Wouldn’t; An African American Read-In Deferred: Nikole Hannah-Jones Leads Effort in Iowa | Pen America
IA SF418 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly; Meeting Public Comments HSB242; Iowa Erases 'Gender Identity' from Its Civil Rights Law: Employers Still Obligated Under Federal Title VII - Jackson Lewis; Iowa Governor Signs Law Making State the First to Remove Gender Identity Protections From Civil Rights Code; Thousands protest as Iowa Republicans become first in U.S. to repeal civil rights for trans people; Iowa Legislature Votes to Strip Trans People From Civil Rights Protections; IA SF418 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly Iowa Legislature Public Hearings Comments
Iowa lawmakers erase gender identity from state civil rights law | Courthouse News Service; Lambda Legal Condemns Iowa Legislature’s Move to Strip Protections for Gender Identity from State Civil Rights Law; Iowa Legislature Passes Barbaric Bill to Allow Discrimination Against Transgender People; Bill Text: IA SF418 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Introduced; The Economic Case: How Dan Jansen's Iowa LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce Boosts Inclusion in Iowa
Bill Information SF418 Iowa Legislature; The Economic Case: How Dan Jansen's Iowa LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce Boosts Inclusion in Iowa; Iowa Legislature - Meeting Public Comments SF418; Business owners, activists call for more 'economic pressure on anti-LGBTQ+ bills; Thousands protest as Iowa Republicans become first in U.S. to repeal civil rights for trans people; Iowa lawmakers erase gender identity from state civil rights law | Courthouse News Service; Lambda Legal Condemns Iowa Legislature's Move to Strip Protections for Gender Identity from State Civil Rights Law
Senate File 418: What it says, how it impacts transgender Iowans and why you should care – The Simpsonian; How discriminatory legislation contributes to brain drain — Scioto Analysis; Unethical Protection of Conscience: Defending the Powerful against the Weak; Caitlyn Wiener - PhD Defense: "Dynamic Landscape of Healthcare Access in the United States: Evaluating Rural-Urban Differences in Availability, Accessibility, and Utilization" | University of Iowa Events
Iowa Legislature Passes Barbaric Bill to Allow Discrimination Against Transgender People; Equal Opportunity is the Law | Iowa Workforce Development; Bill Text: IA HF571 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Amended; Meeting Public Comments | SF 418; Senate File 418: What it says, how it impacts transgender Iowans and why you should care | The Simpsonian
Fact Sheet: Immigrants in Iowa | American Immigration Council; U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement; U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement; Borders of Belonging: Mixed-Status Families and the Impacts of Family Separation on Population Health | IAPHS; PDF DOWNLOAD, A Profile of Children with Unauthorized Immigrant Parents | Migration Policy Institute Fact Sheet
Undercounted, Underserved Immigrant and Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System | The Annie E Casey Foundation; The Dire Mental Health Effects of Restrictive Immigration Policies | US Committee for Refugees And Immigrants; Migrant Work, Gender and the Hostile Environment: A Human Rights Analysis | Oxford Academic Industrial Law Journal; The negative health effects of hostile environment policies on migrants... | NIH PubMed Central
U.S.: Federal judge imposes new restrictions on DOGE's access to Social Security data | CBS News; Local News: Community members protest DOGE's access to Social Security during federal hearing in Baltimore | CBS News; Elon Musk, DOGE use access to Social Security data to elevate claims against migrants | CBS News; Who is Frank Bisignano, Trump's nominee to oversee Social Security? | CBS News Money Watch; Baldwin Demands Answers from Social Security Administration on Musk and DOGE’s Access to Personal Information; Disturbing Whistleblower Information Obtained by Committee Democrats Leads Ranking Member Connolly to Demand Investigation into DOGE’s Disruption of Social Security Operations, Collection of Americans’ Sensitive Data | Committee on Oversight And Government Reform Democrats;
"We Need to Work For It:" Iowa State Students are Fighting for Their Community and University Equity - PEN America; PDF: Beyond the hostile environment | Institute for Public Policy Research; Migrant Work, Gender and the Hostile Environment: A Human Rights Analysis | Industrial Law Journal | Oxford Academic
Iowa Businesses Agree, Republicans' "Religious Freedom For All" Bill is Bad for State's Economy | Iowa Democrats; The Economic Case: How Dan Jansen's Iowa LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce Boosts Inclusion in Iowa - CultureALL; Business owners speak out against anti-trans bills at Statehouse | Business Record
Iowa Businesses Agree, Republicans' "Religious Freedom For All" Bill is Bad for State's Economy | Iowa Democrats; The Economic Case: How Dan Jansen's Iowa LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce Boosts Inclusion in Iowa - CultureALL; Iowa is one of Midwest's worst states for LGBTQ+ equality, a report for employers finds | The Des Moines Register
Senate File 418: What it says, how it impacts transgender Iowans and why you should care The Simpsonian; Borders of Belonging: Mixed-Status Families and the Impacts of Family Separation on Population Health; The Dire Mental Health Effects of Restrictive Immigration Policies; Beyond the hostile environment; Migrant Work, Gender and the Hostile Environment: A Human Rights Analysis | Industrial Law Journal Oxford Academic
Iowa Legislature - Meeting Public Comments; Senate File 418: What it says, how it impacts transgender Iowans and why you should care - The Simpsonian; PDF: 1 March 20, 2025 The Honorable Mike Crapo The Honorable Ron Wyden Chair, Committee on Finance Ranking Member, Committee on Fin - American Association on Health and Disability; PDF: Beyond the Hostile Environment | Institute for Public Policy Research
Urbandale schools made a list of nearly 400 books forbidden from classrooms because of a new Iowa law; The Far-Right Attack on Education: How Curriculum and Classroom Censorship Stifles Educators, Harms Students, and Threatens Our Democracy - American Oversight; America's Censored Classrooms 2023 | Pen America; Iowa school cancels African American Read-In, 1619 Freedom School steps in | Iowa Starting Line
Iowa Legislature - Meeting Public Comments; Senate File 418: What it says, how it impacts transgender Iowans and why you should care - The Simpsonian; U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement; PDF: 1 March 20, 2025 The Honorable Mike Crapo The Honorable Ron Wyden Chair, Committee on Finance Ranking Member, Committee on Fin - American Association on Health and Disability
Iowa is leading the way.
Call it white Christian nationalism–I think people like to use the term as a “gotcha,” as if white is somehow derogatory. People are starting to reject that nonsense, and DEI is the reason.
Nobody wants to walk around feeling guilty for being white by “checking their privilege.”
As for Christianity, this is our faith, the truth and the life. It’s not perfect, as people are not perfect, but it’s the guiding light. So again: white Christian nationalism. You use it as a derogatory term, as something a person should be ashamed of. But no, a person should be proud of whoever they were born as. And if it’s white, be proud of being white. Imagine if people hated on black or brown folks the way white is treated? Be proud of your race, your faith, and your nation.
You talk a great deal about transgenderism. We reject it. It’s a mental disorder–not something that should be promoted as good. These people need medical treatment from psychiatrists and therapists to recover from their gender dysphoria.
Back to DEI it is just a long rant about how white people are bad. Why would we want to promote that? We are a majority-white state. It’s Marxist nonsense set to divide by class. I prefer old-school colorblindness—I see people, not race.
As for immigrants, that’s the simplest of all your complaints: illegal is illegal. If you are illegal, you must leave. Nobody told you to start a family here without going about it the legal way.
What we have here are irresponsible actions by folks moving to a foreign country, setting up shop, and then acting shocked when told to leave.
Would you sneak into Germany, have kids, and work under the table, all while knowing you’re breaking the law? Most people wouldn’t. You know you’re going to get caught and removed. People take advantage of the United States, and that’s coming to an end.
In all this and more Iowa is leading the way!
Hysterical. In more ways than one :-)