Guest columnist

• Andrea Frantz is a Storm Lake resident and the Executive Director of the Society for Collegiate Journalists.
• This essay is also signed by Storm Lake LGBTQ+ advocates and community members Wind Goodfriend, Meg McKeon, Gus Raymond, Joel Berrien Jr., the Rev. Melanie Hauser, Willa J. Casstevens, Maggie Martinez

Iowa has a history of saying “gay,” before others.

In 2009, Iowa became just the third state in the nation to recognize gay marriage as a legal right according to its state Supreme Court decision Varnum v. Brien. So, we Iowans not only can say “gay,” but most of us understand that doing so makes us stronger as a community.

Simply put, words matter.

They determine the ways in which we can connect with others and clearly indicate where we diverge. Such awareness ensures our ability to make decisions that impact our individual health, safety, and engagement with the broader world.

Conversely, for government to either silence speech or compel it is not only unconstitutional, but also undermines the very fabric of American society. Unfortunately, as history has long shown us, governments seem unable to resist trying. Why? Because if successful, the silencers remain in power.

It should come as no surprise that Republican Iowa legislators, emboldened by midterm wins and GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds’ rising national star, feel they have a blank check to focus their agenda on pandering to the extreme element of the conservative base by targeting LGBTQ+ Iowans.

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