After failed attempt, transgender bathroom brawl to enter Round 2
A South Dakota civil liberties group is gearing up for the second round of a transgender bathroom brawl.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is set to hold a fundraiser Thursday to solicit donations for another debate at the Capitol over measures that could limit transgender students' ability to use the restrooms, locker rooms or shower facilities they prefer.
Set to keynote the event is a transgender rights activist and attorney who is defending former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman who has been convicted of leaking secret documents about the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A North Carolina law hasn't deterred conservative groups in South Dakota from drafting a revised version of the bill, which they hope the governor will like better. Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a 2016 bill saying it didn't address any pressing issue and decisions of transgender bathroom use were being appropriately handled at the local level.
That measure, House Bill 1008, sparked protests across the state as LGBT and civil liberties groups said the bill was discriminatory. The measure's backers said it was necessary to protect student privacy.
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Chase Strangio, a New-York based ACLU lawyer representing Manning, said the organization is prepared for another battle in Pierre. Strangio said his address Thursday will address the reinvigorated efforts to combat similar bills as well as the need to raise awareness about transgender issues.
"We are redoubling our effort, we have more resources than ever," Strangio said. "We are prepared to put up a fight against the attacks we faced last year, this time with additional resources."
Elizabeth Skarin, policy director for the ACLU of South Dakota, said the group has started reaching out to people across the state to educate them about transgender rights. The group has also sought stories from transgender people about discrimination they've faced.
"We've heard from people who are facing discrimination and we think that has to do with what was said in the Legislature," Skarin said.
Skarin said the organization is preparing to defend against bills like a set of four that brought earlier this year that dealt with transgender policies and the ability of others to discriminate against them. All four were defeated or shelved.
"We are here and we are ready to fight it with everything we've got," Skarin said.
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Meanwhile, an image of what could've transpired in the Mount Rushmore State plays out in North Carolina as the state deals with repercussions of enacting House Bill 2. Last week Gov. Pat McCrory dropped a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the the North Carolina law that curbed legal protections for transgender people.
McCrory cited "substantial costs" to the state among his reasons for abandoning the lawsuit. Businesses, entertainers and athletic associations have boycotted the state since the state enacted the law. And lawmakers who helped pass the bill have since backed away from it, with at least one calling for its repeal.
Conservative groups in South Dakota said they are watching the situation in North Carolina, but wouldn't allow that to influence proposals brought before the state Legislature.
"If we think it is the right thing to do for South Dakota, we will initiate a measure whether other states have passed similar bills or not," said Dale Bartscher, executive director of conservative Christian group Family Heritage Alliance Action.
Bartscher said the group that backed House Bill 1008 earlier this year hasn't set its policy priorities yet, but will hold a private policy summit next month to determine what legislation they'll support in Pierre.
"I fully expect the issue of privacy rights to be on the table at the policy summit," he said.
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As groups prepare legislation ahead of the 2017 session, courts across the country are deciding what rules are appropriate in policing bathroom use.
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a federal appeals court order last month allowing transgender students in Virginia to use bathrooms they prefer. A case there proceeds in court.
Attorney General Marty Jackley in July signed South Dakota on to a lawsuit against the Obama administration saying it had overstepped its authority in threatening to pull federal Title IX funds from schools that don't comply with a policy that allows transgender students to use bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities of the gender with which they identify.
Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call (605) 370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com