"Shame on you, Christians": Senator Tony Bisignano slams Republicans over anti-trans bill

This video shows part of the Iowa Senate debate on a wide-ranging transgender discrimination bill on February 27, 2025, including an an epic takedown from Democratic State Senator Tony Bisignano. The first 40 seconds shows Democratic State Senator Matt Blake offering an amendment that would restore civil rights protections for transgender Iowans for purposes of banking and credit. Then the Republican floor manager, State Senator Jason Schultz, briefly advised colleagues to reject the amendment. Schultz was the only Republican to speak during the hours-long debate on the bill, which the GOP fast-tracked to the governor's desk. Then Bisignano rose to speak. "Are we not going to have a debate here on this issue? I mean, no one else wants to talk. We're talking about something critical here: people's lives." Referring to protesters who crowded the state capitol on February 27, Bisignano said, "These people aren’t downstairs because they’ve got nothing else to do. Their life’s on the line and should be taken serious, and I don't think you're taking it serious.” The Democrat was outraged that Republicans weren't even explaining why they were revoking civil rights protections for trans Iowans. "Do you got anything legitimate to talk about why you're screwing people in housing, and in employment, and in health care and everything else? Can we talk about it over there, a little bit?" Bisignano was just getting warmed up. “You hurt more people than I’ve ever seen in my political life, and you never speak about it. The only thing you can’t wait to do is say the prayer in the morning. Follow what you say." He accused most of the Republicans of not paying attention to the floor debate. "This isn't your average bill running through this chamber. You're hurting people." Bisignano said Iowa should be proud to have enacted civil rights protections, being "on the cutting edge of human rights." But we don't want them living or working next to us. “What have they ever done to you? Most of you don’t even know somebody who’s transgender. You don’t even know ’em, but you hate ’em. You have to hate ’em because you cannot do what you’re doing today if you didn’t.” "But we'll say a nice prayer to start the day," he went on. "We always do. And then we proceed to violate people over and over and over again. All they want is their fair shake in life." Bisignano slammed Republicans for not defending what they are doing, "instead of just sitting there smugly looking over here, waiting for 3:30 so you can force us to vote." LGBTQ Iowans were still protesting in the capitol rotunda while the Senate was debating, Bisignano noted. "They're not there because they've got nothing to do. Their life is at stake and you're not even talking about it. I ask you to support this amendment. It's not much." Raising his voice, Bisignano said, “Shame on you. Shame on all of you Christians who want to keep talking about your faith when this is what God talked about! I don’t know where you go to church, and I don’t know what you read, but being a good Christian doesn’t take much. Do unto others. Take care of your neighbor.” "It never stops being disappointing in this room," said Bisignano, who has served in the state legislature for many years. "It never stops, because we've never yet hit bottom. But we are getting very, very close." He told Republicans, "We'd like to hear you, in your words. Tell us why you hate these people. Tell us why you want to grind 'em and take 'em out of Iowa, because that's what this does." At that point, GOP State Senator Jesse Green called a point of order, asking, "Can we get back to the bill?" The presiding senator, Ken Rozenboom, encouraged Bisignano to stay on topic. He finished by saying, "Shame on you, Christians," and sat down. Later on February 27, the Senate approved the bill (Senate File 418) on a party-line 33 to 15 vote. The House approved the bill less than an hour later. Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill on February 28.