@pinknews: Iowa has become the first state to remove gender identity protections from its civil rights code. The law, which took effect today (Tuesday 1 July), means that transgender and nonbinary residents are no longer protected from discrimination in their job, housing and other aspects of life. It also explicitly defines female and male based on reproductive organs at birth and removes the ability for people to change the sex designation on their birth certificate. Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat State Representative for Iowa and a transgender woman said in response to the law: "It pains me to see that the rights of an entire group of people can be so quickly and easily discarded". #iowa #trumpadministration #transrights #transwomen #republicans #lgtqia