DES MOINES, Iowa — Chants of "We say gay!" echoed across the Iowa Capitol rotunda on Wednesday, as hundred of Iowans joined together to protest legislation impacting LGBTQ+ Iowans.
"We are not a threat to your existence," said Jo Allen, a community organizer who spoke at the rally. "We are your siblings. We are your friends, and most importantly, we are your neighbors, and we deserve the same love and protection as everyone else."
The event was organized by the Iowa Queer Student Alliance; they also helped put together the student walkouts on March 1.
Organizers say that after the widespread participation they saw there, they wanted to take their message to a bigger platform.
"We wanted our community to rally, we wanted to show them that we are loved and we are a community," said Emmaline Mitchell, founder of Iowa QSA. "And this is like Iowa, whatever you're projecting onto our legislation is not Iowa. We are Iowa."
LGBTQ+ legislation in the latest session has dealt with everything from proposals to ban gender-affirming care to requiring that schools notify parents if a student identifies as trans.
But the people impacted by that legislation say that the bills are based on a misunderstanding of what their lives are really like.
"It is horrifying and heartbreaking to hear all of the misconceptions about our community, which is a community that has only ever showed me compassion, support, love, acceptance," said Katy Crowley, a member of Iowa QSA.