Media Contact

Janna Farley, jfarley@aclu.org

January 10, 2022

As the 2022 South Dakota Legislative Session starts this week, all eyes and ears will once again be on Pierre.

The ACLU of South Dakota will be monitoring a wide variety of bills and working to defend and protect the civil liberties of all South Dakotans and will focus on three main issue areas: abortion access and reproductive freedom, defending free speech and opposing classroom censorship, and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit equality. 

“Decisions made during the annual sessions of the South Dakota Legislature have a deep and lasting impact on our state’s people and communities,” said Jett Jonelis, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “As new laws are created and others repealed or written, it’s important to ensure that these changes preserve and strengthen our constitutional rights. The stakes are high for legislative action in 2022, and we must defend and protect the civil liberties of all South Dakota, especially for some of our most vulnerable populations.”

For more information about the ACLU of South Dakota’s legislative priorities, tune in to “Session 22: A First Look.” The program premieres today at noon CT on YouTube and is available to watch on demand any time after that. More details are also available on the ACLU of South Dakota website

About the ACLU of South Dakota

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of South Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and Wyoming. The team in South Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people.  In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of South Dakota.

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