On Saturday, the ACLU of South Dakota along with a team of dedicated volunteers set up shop at the Sioux Falls Pride Festival. Our team welcomed festivalgoers with ACLU buttons, stickers, Know Your Rights pamphlets, and the now-infamous ACLU Love photo frame. We had a wonderful day celebrating love, equality, and the Sioux Falls area LGBT community!
Our commitment to fighting for LGBT rights extends well beyond this one-day event. The ACLU has a long history of supporting the LGBT community on a local and national level. Some examples of our recent work in South Dakota include:
- Securing a historic transgender rights victory: In 2016 the ACLU lead the fight against HB 1008, a discriminatory bill that forced transgender students to choose between isolated accommodations and those that do not match their gender identity. This campaign resulted in a resounding victory when Governor Daugaard issued a historic veto on HB 1008.
- Hosting an event featuring a leading transgender rights expert: The 2016 Cheers to Liberty event featured Chase Strangio, New York based Staff Attorney for the ACLU LGBT & HIV project. His keynote speech included an overview of LGBT legal and legislative trends, and demonstrated the way in which a small state like South Dakota’s consideration and advancement of discriminatory legislation that targets transgender people had a rippling effect on state legislatures around the country.
- Advocating for LGBT youth in schools in coordination with local and national groups: The ACLU spoke publically about our commitment to work with our partners and allies to reach out to LGBT students and fight for their right to complete their education free of harassment and discrimination.
- Leading the resistance to anti-LGBT “religious freedom” legislation: In 2017 our legislature introduced SB 149, a bill that allows child placement agencies to refuse services, including adoption, on the basis of an agency’s religious beliefs. The fight against this bill was long and arduous, and unfortunately SB 149 was passed into law and signed by the governor. But we’re confident that the ACLU, LGBT partner organizations, and allies of equality made their voices heard at the Capitol and in their communities around the state.
The ACLU of South Dakota team looks forward to our continued participation in the Pride festival, as well as to the progress we seek to make in South Dakota. But we can’t do it without you. Become a member of the ACLU, sign up to receive our emails, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and volunteer with us to help turn out community when it counts.