“Forcing females to compete against males is the opposite of inclusivity and it’s absolutely unfair," Governor Kim Reynolds said. 

Today, our governor in Iowa chose violence against the trans community. After refusing repeated requests to meet with transgender youth and their families, Reynolds signed HF2416 which immediately went into effect. This law bans transgender women and girls from participating in school sports from kindergarten through college. 

This invalidates the trans experience and reinforces the belief that trans girls are not girls. In fact, Kim Reynolds likens trans girls to men. Sports don't need "saving" from trans athletes, they need to be inclusive atmospheres that account for all identities. 

The Trevor Project is the worlds largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay. bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. Their 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health states that "more than half of transgender and non-binary youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. 85% say that recent debates around anti-trans bills have negatively impacted their mental health." Laws like HF2416 being passed is inevitably going to increase the detriment of trans mental health. 

We need to stand togethe against the discriminatory agenda of Kim Reynolds and the supporters of this bill. It is past time to include trans individuals in all aspects of the shared human experience, like sports. Please sign this petition to challenge our misinformed leaders and overturn the passing of this bill! Trans lives matter--today and always.