FTA -
While not all Catholic, Iowa’s political leadership is comprised of deeply conservative Christians, solicitous of their fundamentalist base. Like Ireland’s leadership decades ago, they are consumed by their own anxieties over sex and sexuality. Here is the painful review of their recent efforts:
In March 2022, the state enacted a law prohibiting transgender girls from playing on female sports teams in schools.
In January of this year, Reynolds and her allies in the legislature pushed through a sweeping bill that directs significant amounts of state funds to private (mostly Christian) schools.
In March, the GOP trifecta banned gender-affirming care for minors and mandated that Iowans of any age use school bathrooms or other facilities matching their "biological sex," their gender assigned at birth.
The same month, Republican lawmakers attacked diversity and inclusion initiatives at Iowa's state universities in response to the right-wing perception that universities are dangerous, “woke” outposts in a conservative land. An appropriations bill approved later imposed a hiring freeze for such programs at universities.
In May, Reynolds signed a law prohibiting any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from grades K-6, and banning school library or classroom materials that contain "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act."
It's also worth noting that the time period in Ireland that the article discussed was also the period when the Irish Republican Army was most active. If they're right and we can look at history to predict where Iowa is going...