At the Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz announced the board’s proposal to create solutions to address safety concerns and reduce barriers in the county for transgender residents.
The proposal has not been voted on by the rest of the board but is on the agenda for its Thursday morning formal meeting.
“Instead of releasing a proclamation, we are recognizing the direct harm transgender residents are experiencing in our county and creating a pathway for collective action,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.
A month after a protest on the University of Iowa campus against conservative speaker Chloe Cole, seven residents, who all identify as transgender or nonbinary, were charged.
Fixmer-Oraiz advised transgender residents to work with the board to create a list of actionable solutions to support the community. These solutions will be presented to the full board on June 1.
Fixmer-Oraiz followed up this statement with a list of areas the board would like to focus on, such as enacting policies to make sure people are called by their chosen name in court documents, designating Johnson County as a safe place for transgender residents, and increasing resources and funding for transgender individuals and organizations.
Tara McGovern, whose legal last name is Dutcher, but prefers McGovern, spoke at public comment. McGovern was one of the protesters charged with protest-related crimes nearly a month after the event at the Iowa Memorial Union in October.
McGovern was the only one of the seven protesters who took their charges to trial and was acquitted by a jury on March 13 for two misdemeanor charges relating to their participation in the protest.
Money fundraised by supporters has not only helped cover their legal fees but also cover the fees of the other six transgender and nonbinary people arrested as well as the nine protesters who were charged during a protest at Kinnick Stadium, McGovern said.
According to the fundraiser website, it generated nearly $17,000 toward its $25,000 goal.
The fundraiser’s goal is to cover legal fees, fines, and restitution to the UI for Kinnick’s doors. So far, 239 supporters donated to support the fundraiser, many leaving positive statements of support for those arrested and for the fundraiser’s purpose.
McGovern said although they felt the city and county had let them down, the community stepped up to help support them.
Supervisor Royceann Porter said she felt disappointed in the board for taking action to support transgender residents in Johnson County while also not recognizing that Black residents have gone through the same criticism and harm but have not been shown the same attentive action.
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In a message over the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to The Daily Iowan, McGovern said people don’t have to pick and choose between fair treatment and people’s equality.
“Equal rights is not pie and the scarcity mindset helps nobody,” McGovern wrote. “We don’t have to fight each other to be recognized as fully human.”
Jack Moore contributed to this report.
