Protesters descend on Florida capitol to criticize DeSantis, GOP for anti-trans bill: 'Erasing trans babies!'
Members of LGBTQ group "Equality Florida," other left-wing activist groups and Democratic state lawmakers turned out at the Florida capitol recently to protest GOP-sponsored bills restricting minors' access to sex change therapies and surgeries.
The Washington Post accused Iowa Republicans of "targeting the LGBTQ community" in a hit piece Monday and of making the state the new "Florida of the North."
"Republicans in the Iowa legislature, empowered by the state’s recent ‘red wave,’ have embarked on an ambitious new agenda that includes a costly school choice bill and legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, a historic divergence from Iowa’s history as a civil rights bastion," Washington Post reporter Annie Gowen wrote.
"A joke among statehouse reporters is that Iowa is becoming the ‘Florida of the North’ — without the beaches," she added.
"A joke among statehouse reporters is that Iowa is becoming the ‘Florida of the North’ — without the beaches," The Washington Post said of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' Iowa. (Courtesy: Iowa governor's office)
The Post mentioned Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, 10 times in the article, portraying her as a culture warrior on "gun rights," "school choice" and "abortion access."
But The Washington Post drew a particular connection between so-called "Don’t say gay" protestors in Iowa and Florida.
Leftist activists have notably called Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which became law in March, the "Don’t say gay" bill, in an attempt to smear Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The law prevents school employees or third parties from giving classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" for students anywhere from kindergarten through the third grade.
IOWA REPUBLICAN UNVEILS LEGISLATION TO PROTECT RURAL LAND FROM CHINA, OTHER FOREIGN ADVERSARIES
Republican Govs. Kim Reynolds of Iowa (left) and Ron DeSantis of Florida team up at an event in Davenport, Iowa, on March 10, 2023. (And to the Republic )
The Post argued that Reynolds has focused her power on restricting the LGBTQ community.
"Even as teens draped in rainbow flags crowded into the Capitol rotunda chanting ‘We say gay’ on March 8, Iowa lawmakers quickly passed three bills related to gay and transgender rights, culminating with a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth that is awaiting Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’s signature," The Post claimed.
The article cited politicians and activists opposed to Reynolds to make its case that the Republican governor was an "activist" leader.
"From about 2019 until this year, attacks on LGBTQ Iowans have been exponentially increasing," One Iowa Action’s director of policy and advocacy Keenan Crow reportedly told The Washington Post.
"I believe it’s primarily because of the governor and her shifting priorities. It seems for whatever reason, she wants Iowa to be more like Florida."
A display in a conference room at the Iowa GOP's headquarters, in Des Moines, Iowa on July 15. 2021.
On school choice, a former Iowa mayor accused Reynolds of becoming "extreme."
"That’s a red flag when your head of government is primarying her own party. It is an indication that the ideologies are becoming more extreme," former Indianola mayor Kelly Shaw said, according to The Washington Post.
"The governor has effectively removed her opposition, and that is pretty extraordinary," Shaw added.
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Gov. Reynolds' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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