House Bill 1260

Update: House lawmakers voted to defeat House Bill 1260.

Background: House Bill 1260 would require that birth certificates and certain official documents, like driver’s licenses, reflect a person’s gender assigned at birth.

Our position: The ACLU of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1260. This bill would ban transgender people from obtaining birth certificates and driver’s licenses that accurately reflect their identity.

Forcing transgender South Dakotans to go through life with inaccurate birth certificates or official government documents unnecessarily exposes them to discrimination, harassment, and violence and would mean trans people would be forced to disclose their trans identity when accessing essential needs. This violates the rights of trans people to privacy, freedom of speech, and equal protection under the Constitution.