"It's been 20 years that we've been protecting on the basis of gender identity. It's not new. It's not radical," says Kit Thomson Crossman, executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission.

Kim Reynolds is expected as soon as Thursday evening to sign the bill into law, which would roll back nearly two decades of civil rights protections for trans Iowans. Iowa Democrats warned that the bill would open the door for employers and educators to discriminate against trans people in the state.

Civil rights and LGBT advocates say the Iowa bill would leave the transgender community vulnerable to discrimination. The bill aims to abolish gender identity as a protected class