SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed three bills into law on Thursday. One of these new laws impacts the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s very much a safety issue for trans people.Jack Fonder, Transformation Project outreach facilitator
“It’s just one part of a coordinated effort to target and restrict rights of trans people in South Dakota, especially trans youth,” Jack Fonder, outreach facilitator for the Transformation Project, said.
“South Dakota is a place where commonsense values remain common, and these bills reinforce that fact,” Rhoden said in a Friday press release.
“Gov. Rhoden is putting vulnerable trans youth at risk for abuse and harassment,” Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Dakota, said in a statement on Friday.
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HB 1259 prohibits unauthorized access to certain multi-occupancy rooms in public schools and state and local governments. The law lists these rooms as changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters.
These bills promote strong families, safety in education, and freedom from the ‘woke’ agenda like what has happened in too many other places.Governor Larry Rhoden
According to the Transformation Project, HB 1259 bans transgender individuals from using a bathroom or locker room that matches their gender identity at school.
“It does send a harmful message to trans and gender individuals that they’re not welcome or valued in our state, which is definitely taking a step back,” Fonder said. “All South Dakotans deserve equal rights to live safely and authentically.”
Attacks on trans rights is an attack on people…Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the ACLU of South Dakota
As Rhoden said in the press release, “These bills promote strong families, safety in education, and freedom from the ‘woke’ agenda like what has happened in too many other places.”
“This is this is not a safety issue for everybody else, but it’s very much a safety issue for trans people,” Fonder said.
As Chapman said in Friday’s statement, “As the alleged ‘war on woke’ attempts to manipulate trans rights into flashpoints in the larger political discourse, the truth remains unchanged: Attacks on trans rights is an attack on people — their lives, their rights and their freedom to be. These partisan attempts to police bodies so they might adhere to one person’s belief system is not just wrong, it’s unlawful.”
Laws will be followed, but Fonder says that the Transformation Project will continue to speak up and show up for trans and gender diverse communities.
“We are not going to be silent,” Fonder said.
Originally, the organization was going to host a rally called “Stop the Bathroom Ban” to support a veto to HB 1259. Those plans changed once Rhoden signed the bill into law.
The Transformation Project will host rallies in Rapid City, Brookings, and Sioux Falls over the weekend. The Sioux Falls rally will take place at Van Eps Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 23. Fonder says more details, such as locations and times, will become available through the Transformation Project’s social media pages.
All South Dakotans deserve equal rights to live safely and authentically.Jack Fonder, Transformation Project outreach facilitator
“We need to support one another and we need to send a clear message that these kind of things are not okay,” Fonder said.
During the legislative session, Rhoden signed 154 bills and vetoed only one, according to the Governor’s office.
According to its website, the Transformation Project supports transgender individuals and their families, while educating state communities about gender identity and expression.
The ACLU of South Dakota is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that aims to preserve and enhance civil liberties and civil rights, according to its website.
