Iowa lawmakers became the first in the nation to approve legislation removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code Thursday, despite massive protests by opponents who say it could expose transgender people to discrimination in numerous areas of life.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed SF418, a bill that eliminates “gender identity” as a protected class under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill that strikes gender identity from Iowa law, making the state the first to remove civil rights from a previously protected class.