Iowa subcommittee rejects proposal to remove ‘gender identity’ from state Civil Rights Code: In a move celebrated statewide on social media, an Iowa House subcommittee consisting of two Republicans and one Democrat rejected an amendment that would have removed “gender identity” from Iowa’s Civil Rights Code, reports Iowa Capital Dispatch. Iowa is one of 25 states that include the phrase in their code (along with Illinois), and Iowa would have been the first of those 25 states to remove it. The proposed change also would have added gender dysphoria to the state’s disabilities law, providing transgender people legal protections similar to those received by people with physical or mental disabilities. Hundreds of Iowans turned out at the State Capitol to speak out against the proposal during the subcommittee hearing. The move was also praised by Iowa’s Republican House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley. “I would say I don’t think that that would be the wise choice or the wise thing to do for those basic civil rights protections that are there,” he told The Des Moines Register. Read more about yesterday’s subcommittee hearing from not only Iowa Capital Dispatch and The Des Moines Register, but also Iowa Public Radio. and U.S. News.
Fixation on assumed drug use revealed in new video of Tyre Nichols’ death: More than 20 hours of video newly-released in the death of Tyre Nichols shows law enforcement and medical workers involved in his death based many of their actions on an assumption that he was under the influence of opioids, reports National Public Radio. “Medics administered Naloxone to reverse a potential opioid overdose as Nichols slouched, unresponsive, after officers propped him up against a car,” with one officer proclaiming that Nichols was “high” rather than severely injured. Blood test results after Nichols’ death revealed low levels of alcohol and THC from cannabis. Nichols died in January 2023 after Memphis police officers beat him for hours. The new video was released on the day that former Memphis police officer Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, NPR reports. Five of his colleagues also face murder and civil rights charges.
2020 protesters to receive $10 million settlement from Seattle Police: Excessive force by police officers during a protest after by George Floyd’s May 28, 2020 death has led to a $10 million settlement to 50 Seattle protesters, reports USA Today. The protesters sued the Seattle Police Department after it used “flash-bang grenades, foam-tipped projectiles and blast balls that explode and emit pepper gas” to dispel a crowd gathered to protest police brutality after Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Record-setting number of People of Color head coaches in NFL this year: With nine head coaches that are People of Color, the National Football League now has its most diverse slate ever of top coaches, reports USA Today. This year, the NFL hired four coaches that identify as People of Color, also a record. But despite the progress, more work remains. “The nine coaches of color account for 28% of the 32 coaches in a league where roughly two-thirds of the players are men of color,” writes Nancy Armour. Read more here.
(cover photo features Iowa State Capitol and LGBTQ flags during a 2023 protest, courtesy of Phil Roeder through Flickr, and Tyre Nichols protest sign at a protest in Columbus, Oh., courtesy of Becker199 through Wikimedia Commons)
