Hi, I'm Oliver.

I came out publicly as a transgender male when I was 15. Since then, I’ve been living my life as the person I really am – Oliver – a normal teenage boy in South Dakota. I work at the library, I’m involved with theater, and I like to hang out with my friends. Recently, I also graduated from Yankton High School.

But this year, I did something I never thought I would. I testified in front of the state legislature about House Bill 1108, legislation that would have codified discrimination against transgender youth. Thankfully, this bill – and the three other discriminatory transgender bills proposed by lawmakers this year – didn’t pass.

Like many of you, I’ll be celebrating these legislative victories at Pride festivals across the state. I really can’t wait to be part of the fun!

But celebrating LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit culture and diversity in South Dakota reminds me that there is still work to do – especially with some lawmakers promising additional discriminatory LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit bills ahead.

The ACLU of South Dakota has made your act to keep ahead of the legislative session really easy. Just peruse their robust resource page and bookmark your favorites. If I can travel to Pierre to testify during the session (during a snowstorm in February, no less), surely you can check out a couple helpful tools! Be sure to share the pages with your peers, too.

As an ACLU of South Dakota supporter, I’m sure you’ve heard about the importance of contacting your elected officials. That’s important year-round – even when our legislators aren’t in Pierre.

Join me in contacting our legislators today!

It’s important that we tell them that we don’t want to see any discriminatory LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit bills.

Happy Pride everyone!

 

This article was originally posted in 2019.