South Dakota bullies and monsters

First in the nation to legislate discrimination

The South Dakota Legislature is poised to take the lead nationally when it comes to changing laws dealing with transgender residents. 

A handful of proposals would restrict the rights of transgender people and enhance the protections for those who refuse to recognize that choice. That discussion has attracted the attention of national civil rights and LGBT groups, who are now on the offensive and have shifted their attention and forces to Pierre for a battle over transgender rights. 

“South Dakota is even at the front of that trend of anti-transgender policy," said Kate Oakley, senior legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. “And it’s taking a slightly different form in South Dakota, a more egregious form in South Dakota." 

Backers of the measures say they are necessary to offset decisions made by President Barack Obama's administration. They say his interpretation of a federal anti-discrimination policy expands too far in covering transgender students and reprimands have been unwarranted for conservatives affiliated with the government who voice their religious views. 

“We’ve never seen such an unprecedented attack on religious expression,” said Rep. Scott Craig, a Rapid City Republican who is sponsoring one of the bills. “The call or the cry for tolerance is definitely a one-way street." 

Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, brought a bill this session that would bar transgender students from bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms unless they correspond with their biological sex. He said it was intended to promote privacy for all students and it would require schools to provide a "reasonable accommodation" for transgender students. 

Deutsch acknowledged that the measure would likely face lawsuits if schools opted to enact it, but he said schools could also face litigation if they allowed transgender students to use restrooms that didn't correspond with their biological sex. He also said the federal Department of Education's interpretations of Title IX under the Obama administration could be overturned under a Republican president.

The state legislature was knowingly choosing to harm state residents

February 25, 2016 

The Honorable Dennis Daugaard 

Dear Governor Daugaard: 

I hope this letter finds you well and that you will receive this in a timely manner. I have a story to share with you about a great native son of your state. He was a Republican, who loved South Dakota and served the people of your great state and had a positive impact on me. 

My great-grandparents were early settlers of Redfield, South Dakota. After my great-grandad Charles Tisdale Howard graduated from college and passed the bar exam, he and his family moved to the Spink County seat in the Dakota territory in 1882, where he practiced law and was active in the Republican party. 

South Dakota became a state in 1889, and he was appointed as the first U.S. Attorney for South Dakota by President Benjamin Harrison. In 1894, he ran for a House seat in the South Dakota state legislature and was elected the fourth speaker of the House. 

The Republican party in South Dakota today would be unrecognizable to my great-grandfather. At the end of the 19th century, the GOP was devoted to protecting and advancing the rights of African-Americans and former slaves. Today South Dakota Republicans are committed to promoting homophobia and transphobia while bullying and inflicting irreparable harm on minority groups in your state. 

I’m referring to HB 1008 “an Act to restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools.” 

I’m writing to express my concern that national, state and local anti-LGBT organizations are spreading propaganda and misinformation to demonize transgender people and exert pressure on you to sign this punitive and unnecessary measure. 

I applaud you for meeting with transgender activists a few days ago. Meeting your constituents and hearing their personal stories is the most efficient way to learn about a disenfranchised community. I hope you will continue that dialogue. 

Concomitantly, I must urge you to veto HB 1008, because signing this bill would subject young school-age South Dakotans to increased scrutiny which will negatively impact their lives. This bill endangers their physical safety, health, mental health and personal privacy. Also, if this bill becomes law, your state will be penalized by the US Department of Education. How will a reduction in federal funds affect your education budget and teacher pay? 

Right now you have two options. You can sign the bill and be cheered and praised by the extreme right-wing elements of the Republican party. Or you can be courageous and veto the bill, and be a true humanitarian who cares about the well-being of all South Dakotans (Washington state and Virginia both rejected similar measures recently). 

You and your state legislators should know that anti-transgender bias is directly responsible for increased levels of verbal and physical harassment, violence, family rejection, housing instability and discrimination in health care and employment. This bill would add to that. 

Anti-LGBT violence impacts the transgender community disproportionately, and 72 percent of anti-LGBT homicide victims are transgender women while 67 percent of anti-LGBT homicide victims are transgender women of color. 

The 2014 National Transgender Discrimination Survey revealed the following:

• Transgender people who experience bullying, rejection and discrimination have a higher rate of suicide attempts.

• 78 percent of survey respondents who suffered physical or sexual violence at school reported suicide attempts.

• 65 percent of survey respondents who experienced violence at work reported suicide attempts.

• 51 percent of survey respondents who experienced harassment or bullying in schools reported suicide attempts.

• 57 percent of survey respondents who said that their family chose not to speak/spend time with them reported suicide attempts.

• 19 percent of survey respondents stated that they had suffered domestic abuse because of their gender identity.

• 50 percent of survey respondents admit that they've been harassed in the workplace.

And those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Rep. Charles Tisdale Howard of Redfield married Eugenia Beecher, and they named their fourth child Harriet (my grandmother) after Eugenia’s favorite aunt, Harriet Beecher Stowe. When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, it was reported that he said: “so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” 

Charles and Eugenia Howard had four children, nine grandchildren, and twenty-six great-grandchildren (including two gay great-grandchildren).

From Harriet Beecher Stowe to Charles and Eugenia Howard, to Admiral Roy A. Gano and Harriet Howard Gano (my grandparents), to my parents, it was instilled in me not to be disaffected, and to stand up and fight for what’s right and what I believe in. That’s why I’m writing and sharing my story in this letter. 

If HB 1008 is enacted, how much will it cost the state of South Dakota? The loss of federal funds, the cost of lengthy litigation, and the possibility that every public building would have to build and construct additional restrooms to accommodate the law makes the cost prohibitive. If you add in the human cost, and the damage the bill inflicts on LGBT people, the cost increases astronomically. 

Our Constitution has an equal protection clause. Does this bill extend equal protection or does it diminish the few legal protections LGBT people have? 

You know the answer just as I am aware of the answer. That’s why I’m confident that you will veto this ridiculous legislation. 

Thank you for your time Governor. 

With best wishes, I remain 

Sincerely, 

Roy Steele 

San Francisco, CA