Trans Iowa teen spends 18th birthday begging legislators not to take away his rights

Trans teen Kayde Martin spent his 18th birthday begging Iowa legislators not to take away his rights in heart-wrenching testimony given as part of a public hearing held at the State Capitol on the morning of 27 February.

On 28 February, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill that strikes gender identity from the state’s civil rights law. It marks the first time a state has removed a protected class from a state law prohibiting discrimination.

The approved bill means that from 1 July the Iowa Civil Rights Act will no longer prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, education or public accommodation on the grounds of gender identity.

The state will also require birth certificates to reflect a person’s sex as assigned at birth as it removes a clause that previously allowed a trans person to update the sex marker on their birth certificate if they had a notarized affidavit from a doctor.

Before the bill was passed, the Iowa trans community and its allies took to the floor to oppose the proposal. 

‘Please don’t take my rights away’

Kayde Martin, who travelled to the state capitol from Iowa, gave a tearful address to the lawmakers on his 18th birthday, in a bid to beg Republicans not to take his civil rights away. 

He began: “Good morning my name is Kayde Martin… I was born on February 27, 2007. I stand before you fighting for the same basic civil rights that every Iowan deserves by humanely asking you to vote against this bill.

“It deeply troubles me that after 18 years of living here with my family, attending school, working, this is the focus of our state.

“I plan on attending the University of Northern Iowa in the fall and hope to live independently and without fear of discrimination simply because of who I am. I have heard some people talk about women’s rights… why do women’s rights only seem to be defended when (they) are used against the transgender community?

“Where’s the same outcry when it comes to women’s choices in their own bodily autonomy?”

He added: “I want to be able to be the person I was meant to be, and as the person that God knows me to be. Please, don’t take my rights away simply because you disagree with who I am. Being trans is not a choice, it is a reality that you come to when you learn to understand yourself and love yourself.”

‘You’re breaking my heart today’

Democratic state senator Liz Bennett, who was the first out queer woman to serve in the Iowa House and was elected to the Senate in 2022, also spoke out at the public hearing, telling Republicans: “You’re breaking my heart today.” 

“You can try to silence Iowans by limiting debate today, but we won’t be quiet. Trans rights are human rights. We will continue to fight for the day when our state lives up to the motto of our flag: ‘Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain,’” she added. 

‘This is not a bill based in logic’

US Marine Corps veteran and trans man, Eligh Cade, said “this bill will not protect anyone”.

“This is not a bill based in logic. This is not a bill based in truth. This is a bill based on your feelings. It is based on your fundamental lack of human decency towards a group of people that make up less than 1 percent of the country.”

All of the testimonies can be read in full at Bleeding Heartland. 

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