WASHINGTON – South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard made South Dakota the first state this year to enact anti-LGBT legislation following the signing of S.B. 149 Friday, which permits taxpayer-funded agencies to deny services to LGBT people, authorizing discrimination through the use of religious exemptions. With today’s signing of S.B. 149, the legislation becomes the first…
SOUTH DAKOTA — The South Dakota legislature has sent a ‘License to Disriminate’ bill to the governor for signing. The bill, SB 149 would enshrine taxpayer-funded discrimination into state law by allowing state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ youth in their care and to reject qualified prospective LGBTQ adoptive or foster…
Failing to reach the required two-thirds majority needed, today the South Dakota House of Representatives voted 36 to 29 to override Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard’s veto of HB 1008 – reckless legislation attacking the dignity and rights of transgender children in public schools by attempting to prevent them from using restrooms and other facilities consistent…
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard has vetoed HB 1008 — legislation attacking the rights of transgender children in public schools by attempting to force them to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity. Before making his decision, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said meeting with transgender South Dakotans “put a human face” on the…
Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) joined with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of South Dakota, Believe Out Loud and Reconciling Ministries, Freedom for All Americans, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Transgender Law Center to deliver over 80,000 petition signatures to South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard urging him…
As South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard faces a decision on whether to veto HB 1008 – legislation that would prevent transgender students in public schools from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity – seven national health, education, and child advocacy groups joined the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in calling on Daugaard…
Thursday, by a vote of 4 to 2 in Senate Education Committee, South Dakota moved dangerously closer to being the first state in the nation to pass a law specifically attacking transgender children. H.B. 1008 would prevent transgender youth in public schools from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity and would put state…
Last night the South Dakota House of Representatives voted on yet another extreme measure attacking LGBT South Dakotans. By a vote of 46 to 10, the chamber passed HB 1107 – legislation that would explicitly authorize recipients of taxpayer funds or other state recognition to discriminate against same-sex couples, transgender people, and single mothers. HB 1107 is…
Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the ACLU of South Dakota strongly denounced comments made by South Dakota Republican State Sen. David Omdahl this weekend. In an attempt to justify why he will vote in favor of an extreme bill attacking transgender students in public schools, HB 1008, the vehemently anti-equality lawmaker said transgender…
Today, South Dakota lawmakers moved forward with two more pieces of discriminatory legislation targeting LGBT South Dakotans – HB 1112 and HB 1107. Both passed through the House State Affairs committee today by a vote of 10 to 3. HB 1112 could ban transgender students from participating in athletic activities consistent with their gender identity and HB…
