A banned books display is seen at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California on Sept. 22, 2022. A 2023 Iowa law banning LGBTQ books and topics from being discussed in public schools is taking effect after an appeals court lifted an injunction against it on Tuesday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
A 2023 Iowa law banning LGBTQ books and topics from being discussed in public school classrooms is taking effect after an appeals court lifted an injunction against it on Tuesday.
The Court of Appeals for the Eighth U.S. Circuit ruled against the injunction after a lower court judge blocked the law last year.
The law also requires school administrators to inform parents if a student requests accommodations to affirm their gender identity, such as preferred pronouns. LGBTQ advocates warn that outing students puts them at risk of harm.
The lower court ruled that the law was “unconstitutionally vague.” Eighth Circuit Court Judge Ralph Erickson, in his opinion, wrote that while the law may be broad, that “does not mean it is ambiguous, much less unconstitutionally vague.”
Erickson adds that the district court’s preliminary injunction against the law “was an abuse of discretion.”
The preliminary injunction, Erickson said, focused on an interpretation of the terms “programs” and “promotion” as being too broad to refer to only mandatory classroom curriculum, violating the First Amendment.
“The district court engaged in a flawed analysis when it isolated two words in the statute to create an expansive view of the law’s scope,” Erickson wrote.
Nathan Maxwell, senior attorney at Lambda Legal, said in a statement that the appeals court’s ruling is a “setback.”
“This ruling is a setback but it is not the end of this fight,” Maxwell said. “Iowa’s SF 496 is a cruel and unconstitutional law that silences LGBTQ+ children, erases their existence from classrooms, and forces educators to expose vulnerable students to potential harm at home. We will continue to use every legal tool available to protect these young people. They deserve nothing less.”
This week in Washington
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference on the Trump Administration’s efforts to combat fraud at the Department of Justice Headquarters on Tuesday. Last week, President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files and the lack of investigation into individuals he felt should face criminal charges. Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, will lead the Justice Department temporarily. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
