ACLU adds staff to fight 'terrible, discriminatory' bills in SD
The American Civil Liberties Union is strengthening its presence in South Dakota in advance of legislative debates on transgender and women’s issues.
The civil liberties group announced the hiring this week of a communications associate and administrative coordinator in its Sioux Falls office, bringing the number of employees for the state chapter to five.
“It’s only natural that a civil rights organization like ours would be looking to expand our efforts in South Dakota based on the number of terrible, discriminatory bills that have already been proposed this year,” communications associate Jennifer Petersen said.
The expansion will allow the organization to have a full-time lobbyist in Pierre during session to help oppose legislation that violates civil rights, according to Heather Smith, executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota.
“The unfortunate reality is that we live in a state whose politicians would rather spend precious time and resources making it more difficult to vote, singling out and stigmatizing LGBT people, restricting women’s reproductive rights, and infringing people’s right to privacy than focusing on issues that actually need attention,” Smith said.
One of the bills the ACLU will be working to block is a proposal that would require schools to establish bathroom, locker room and shower facilities based on students’ biological sex. Transgender students who don’t want to use the facilities based on their biological gender would have to submit a request to their school district for accommodation.
State Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, said the ACLU's views on some of this session's legislation doesn't reflect South Dakota values.
“The requirement that biological boys and girls be allowed in each other’s showers, restrooms and locker rooms, to me, represents an overstepping of the bounds of what they should be doing,” Deutsch said. “If we are successful in passing this, it would be South Dakota saying, “back off, you’ve gone too far.”
Libby Skarin, policey director for the ACLU in South Dakota, wrote a My Voice column on the issue: Transgender kids just want fair treatment.