'Protect trans kids,' Kum & Go says. Why other Iowa businesses stay silent on LGBTQ bills
Kum & Go's message was concise and pointed.
"Protect trans kids. Period," the company wrote on Twitter Thursday.
In a brief series of tweets, the convenience-store chain stated its opposition to several bills moving rapidly through the Iowa Legislature that would affect LGBTQ Iowans, especially transgender kids. The company highlighted data that shows LGBTQ youth, particularly transgender youth, are at a higher risk of suicide.
The bills are priorities for legislative Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds, who say they're sheltering elementary schoolers from inappropriate conversations by preventing schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity or protecting kids from making life-altering decisions by banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
Opponents say the bills target and harm an already marginalized group of Iowans. While the outcry has been fierce from LGBTQ rights groups, medical and education groups, Democrats and civil liberties organizations, many businesses have avoided weighing in on the polarizing legislation.
What opposition does exist has been slow in building. Iowa's largest employers, business associations and chambers of commerce did not send lobbyists to subcommittee meetings to speak against the bills.
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Lobbyists for Kum & Go and its parent company, Krause Group, first registered against three bills last Wednesday, after the Iowa Senate had already passed one bill restricting which bathrooms transgender kids can use at school and hours before the House voted on final passage of a bill that, once the governor signs it, will ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth younger than 18.
On Friday, leaders of the 80/35 Music Festival tweeted that they were "incredibly dismayed by the recent legislation passed by the IA Senate targeting transgender youth."
Opponents have held statewide student walkouts and multiple protests at the Iowa Capitol. And dozens of small business owners in central Iowa have denounced the bills. They've called on their fellow employers to do more.
“My message is simple. To our government leaders: Equality is good for everyone’s bottom line, and if you build a safe and inclusive state, businesses will stay and businesses will relocate to Iowa," Val Veiock, the owner of Bing's in Valley Junction, Iowa, said at a rally at the Capitol Tuesday. "If you are a small business owner, or business owner of any kind, now is the time to speak out against anti-LGBTQ legislation.”
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Democrats say the bills will affect companies' bottom lines by making Iowa seem unwelcoming for LGBTQ people. And they say the state's large businesses can have an influential voice if they speak out.
"If a group of employers could come together and say, 'This is too much. You have gone too far. You are now affecting my employees, their kids and my ability to attract and retain workers,' then this is the kind of thing that I think could make some waves," House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said Thursday.
Businesses reluctant to get involved on bills that don't apply to the workplace
Many of the bills advancing at the Capitol this year would apply to LGBTQ children in schools and doctor's offices, not workplaces.
- House File 348 would prohibit teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through sixth grade.
- Senate File 482 would restrict which bathrooms transgender kids can use at school.
- Senate File 496, Reynolds' education bill, would prohibit teaching about gender identity and sexual activity from kindergarten through fifth grade, or sixth grade if it’s part of an elementary school. It would also require school employees to immediately notify a parent if they believe a student’s gender identity differs from their sex at birth.
- Senate File 538 would prohibit Iowa doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to a transgender person younger than 18.
Dustin Miller, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, said the members of his organization are reluctant to weigh in when "there isn't a direct connection to an employer."
"Certainly there’s been pressure across the country and even locally about getting more involved," he said. "But we just don’t feel like it’s our place to get involved in every issue, especially those where there isn’t a direct connection to an employer."
Miller said the Chamber Alliance, which represents the state's largest chambers of commerce, has registered in opposition to other bills affecting LGBTQ Iowans, including legislation that would remove gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act and versions of the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" that would give businesses leeway to deny services to customers based on their religious beliefs. Those bills did not advance this year.
"We’re not experts in school policy, and we didn’t weigh in on school choice. We don’t weigh in on school funding year to year," he said. "So when a bathroom bill wasn’t related to kind of business employers it wasn’t something that we felt as if that’s our area of expertise."
Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy for the LGBTQ rights group One Iowa, appreciates that business groups have opposed some measures that would hurt LGBTQ adults in the workplace, but said the circumstances this year "call for more engagement, not the same amount."
"The line in the sand that they have apparently drawn is that if there is not a one-to-one relationship there, in other words, if it impacts an employee’s child or an employee’s family member and not directly the employee themselves, they believe that it is out of their lane," Crow said. "And so they will not engage on that front."
Employers that weighed in on past LGBTQ legislation aren't opposing bills this year
Iowa business groups have had a hand in opposing previous bills that would have impacted LGBTQ Iowans.
The Iowa Chamber Alliance, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce and Principal Financial Group all registered in opposition to a 2021 bathroom bill that would have restricted which restrooms transgender kids could use at school.
None of those groups is registered in opposition to the current legislation. Asked about their lack of participation, many did not respond directly, instead focusing on their efforts to foster inclusive environments.
“The Iowa Business Council believes in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment throughout our member organizations," President Joe Murphy said in an email Thursday. "Our association acts on this by dedicating time at each board meeting to discuss best practices and share perspectives and strategies on how businesses can continue to be welcoming and inclusive to every Iowan.”
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Andrea Woodard, senior vice president of government relations and public policy at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, also emphasized making Iowa a welcoming place but did not address the specific bills in the Legislature.
"We believe that Iowa needs to continue to be a welcoming and safe state for all as part of our ongoing efforts to attract and retain talent," Woodard said in a statement. "The Partnership engages in issues impacting the workplace and is committed to ensuring Greater Des Moines remains a great place to live, work and do business."
Apple has registered against bills affecting LGBTQ Iowans in the past, including opposing last year's law that banned transgender girls from competing in girls sports. That company has not registered on any of the bills moving this year.
A lobbyist for Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Representatives for Principal, Wells Fargo, Hy-Vee and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry did not respond to requests for comment.
Principal emailed a statement to the Business Record that said the company seeks to attract diverse employees and maintain an inclusive environment.
"Understanding and addressing issues such as those before our state and federal legislatures can take many forms, and Principal is engaged with policymakers and stakeholders to create the best possible environment for our employees, customers, and the business community," the company's statement said.
Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' example shows consequences of Disney speaking out
Opponents of Iowa's legislation say employers may have watched the outcry over the passage of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law last year and taken lessons about what not to do.
The Florida law drew national attention and condemnation from large corporations, including Disney.
Following its passage, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly feuded with Disney, signing laws taking away the special self-governing district that encompassed Walt Disney World and giving control to a state board that DeSantis appoints.
"They all saw how DeSantis used the power of the state to punish Disney for speaking out, and they don’t want that to happen to them," Crow said.
Reynolds welcomed DeSantis to Iowa Friday, joining him at stops in Davenport and Des Moines, where the Florida governor recounted his fight with Disney. He told Iowans in Davenport that culture wars can win Republicans elections.
Iowa's proposals go further than Florida's law in restricting teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. Crow said that's going to have an effect on business recruitment down the road.
"I think the business community is being penny wise and pound foolish with their political capital in these situations," Crow said. "I think they don’t want retribution from the governor for speaking out on it, but here’s the thing: This is going to impact an entire generation of Iowa’s workforce. If folks thought the brain drain was bad before, just wait till you see what this extreme 'Don’t Say Gay' bill is going to do to Iowa’s young people. They will leave in droves."
Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, suggested businesses are afraid to oppose bills that Reynolds has indicated are priorities "because they are afraid of political retaliation by the governor."
"Think about how twisted that is," he said Thursday. "People are afraid to exercise their First Amendment protected rights because they worry that the governor will use the power of state government to punish them for speaking out against her agenda."
Dozens of Iowa's small businesses speak out against anti-LGBTQ bills
Dozens of local business owners in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny and Ames have signed onto statements opposing the legislation.
Konfrst, the House Democratic leader, said the small businesses who have spoken out have "stood up and taken the risk."
"If small businesses can do it, large corporations should be able to, too," she said.
Thirty-four businesses in Des Moines' East Village signed a letter in opposition, including Raygun, Daisy Chain Coffee and Storyhouse Bookpub.
"We need more businesses to speak up as we are already seeing people leave the state, a teacher shortage and difficulty finding employees as a result of years of bad legislation coming out of the Iowa Statehouse, which the majority of Iowans do not support," said Niki Hinton of Hinton Consulting.
In West Des Moines' Valley Junction neighborhood, more than 25 businesses signed a similar letter, as did 21 businesses in Ames.
"We stand together in opposition to these discriminatory bills that attack the basic human rights of our fellow Iowans," said Felicia Coe, owner of Cirque Wonderland. "Valley Junction is a community that celebrates diversity and inclusivity, and these bills go against everything we stand for."
More than a dozen businesses in Ankeny signed a statement opposing the legislation, saying LGBTQ business owners could be driven to pack up shop and leave the state if the bills become law.
"This hateful and discriminatory legislation will directly impact our businesses' ability to find and retain employees (and customers) and to thrive in our state," they wrote in a statement.
Des Moines Register reporter Katie Akin contributed reporting.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.