The View From Here

The big issue in the news this week was the passage of Senate File 418. SF418 removes the phrase “gender identity” from the list of protected classes in the Civil Rights code. This means the code protects only traits that are unchangeable (sex, race, etc.) or are protected by the Constitution (religion).

There are already 28 states that don’t have gender identity in their Civil Rights code, and Iowa now joins them. As I was discussing this bill with another senator, we agreed that perhaps we should just get rid of the Civil Rights code and go back to “all people are created equal” as our standard. SF 418 also defines the word “sex” as being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth. It also defines male, female, mother and father.

One motivation for doing this is that the court had a hard time reconciling bills to protect women’s sports and keeping biological men out of women’s restrooms while gender identity was protected in our code. Removal of gender identity helps us protect women and children.

The left was truly outraged by this legislation and showed up in full costume to protest loud and profanely. We had a lot of security present and it was certainly an interesting day.

SF 8 is a bill that prohibits a school board from taking disciplinary action against an employee or student who uses a student’s legal name or refuses to use a preferred pronoun.

A small issue, but a big deal for residents of a nursing home, is SF 255 which changes the personal needs allowance from $50 to $65. This means that residents on Medicare will have a few more dollars to spend on personal items each month. This bill still has a long ways to go, but I am hopeful it will be passed this session and provide more discretionary funds for residents of a nursing home.

My newsletter reporting may seem brief because I just returned Wednesday, February 26th from an 8 day tour to Israel. It was an amazing trip. We visited Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Tiberius, and the Sea of Galilee, and many more places mentioned in the Bible. Our tour guide grew up just blocks from where the Virgin Mary’s parents lived. All of the locations mentioned in the Bible are so close together. Jerusalem is in a bowl, surrounded by mountains. From the Mount of Olives you can see the Temple/Wailing wall, the Garden of Gethsemane, the route that Jesus carried His cross (Via Dolorosa) and so much more. We never had a concern about security. We heard F-16 fighter jets zoom overhead and found out they do regular patrols, so even that was comforting.

If you have been thinking of visiting Israel, now is a great time to go. Places we pulled into would normally have 15 busses in the parking lot at the height of tourism. Last week they only had two. The country’s economy lives on tourism and the Israelis were so happy to welcome visitors after an 18 month absence.

I will be holding town hall meetings on March 8th in Clarion at the Library at 10:00 AM and in the Humboldt City Hall at 12:30 PM.

I will also have forums in Hancock County on March 15. Time and place is still being determined.

This week was a reminder that doing the right thing sometimes does not appear popular, but pursuing truth is always the right thing to do.