News & Commentary

[UPDATE: The sponsors of SB 115 have withdrawn the bill. It's gone!] I worked hard to fight anti-transgender legislation last year, and I'm asking you to stand with me again for transgender teens. Because transgender youth deserve to go to school on equal terms with their peers and go about their days in peace.

South Dakota legislators introduced SB 115, a bill that targets transgender students in public schools, forcing them into isolated spaced and preventing them from participating in school activities on equal terms with their peers.

Plan now to attend a Legislative Coffee or Cracker Barrel: Legislative Coffees and/or Cracker Barrels are held in communities across the state and are attended by the Senators and Representatives who represent that district. These events are a great opportunity to show up and ask questions of your legislators throughout the session. Attend your Legislative Coffee or Cracker Barrel to let your elected officials know that you're paying attention this session!

In Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and more, bills have been pre-filed or lawmakers have announced their plans to file bills that target transgender individuals for discrimination. Unconstitutional, unenforceable, and harmful, these bills send the message to trans people that our very existence is a problem for the lawmakers charged with protecting us.

Sign up to volunteer with the ACLU of South Dakota, and commit to showing up in Pierre, at local legislative coffees, and school board meetings!

Today, Human Rights Watch announced the launch of a report "Like Walking Through a Hailstorm: Discrimination against LGBT Youth in US Schools" which documents problems facing LGBT students. Both the ACLU of South Dakota and the Center for Equality were invited to speak at the press conference.

We are incredibly thankful to have the support of three term South Dakota State Senator Angie Buhl O'Donnell as we bring the Cheers to Liberty event to you in just two short weeks!

The Supreme Court granted an “emergency” stay yesterday to stop Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Virginia, from using the boys’ restroom at school.

Congress leaves town for a seven-week recess today. They leave behind plenty of unfinished business, like legislation to address the looming threat of the Zika virus in the U.S. and around the globe. But with so many pressing issues left unresolved, Congress chose to spend its last few days in Washington doubling down on proposals that discriminate against women and LGBT people under the guise of religious liberty.