South
Dakota Gov. Dennis
Daugaardʼs veto on Tuesday of legislation that would have
restricted access to restrooms and locker rooms in elementary and
high schools in the state does not necessarily shut the door on an
ugly piece of legislation.
However,
the fact that the Republican governor has sent the bill back to the
state House of Representatives and its initial sponsor, Rep. Fred
Deutsch (R-Dist. 4) has asked his House colleagues not to override
Daugaardʼs veto of House Bill 1008, saying an override would detract
from the accomplishments of the overwhelmingly
Republican state legislature, which has so-called
super-majorities in both houses, seemingly points to changes in
attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
communities nationwide.
The
bill, “does
not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of
South Dakota,” Daugaard wrote in a letter sent to House Speaker
Dean Wink. “Local school districts can, and have, made necessary
restroom and locker room accommodations that serve the best interests
of all students, regardless of biological sex or gender identity.ˮ
The
veto comes despite earlier reports that Daugaard initially supported
the bill, and did not happen without incendiary boiler-plate comments
from bill supporters.
“Iʼm
sorry if youʼre
so twisted you donʼt
know who you are,” state Sen. David Omdahl (R-Dist. 11) said when
asked about the bill last month, according to foxnews.com. “Iʼm
telling you right now, itʼs
about protecting the kids, and I donʼt
even understand where our society is these days.”
Omdahlʼs
comment was not only vitriolic and patently offensive, it was
ignorant. Ignorant in its offensiveness and ignorant
of the facts, as experts debunked the fear-mongering arguments
and scare tactics used by people like Omdahl.
For
his part, Daugaard said he wanted to study the legislation and met
with three transgender people to hear their stories. Previously,
Daugaard said he had never knowingly met anyone who was transgender.
The
bill garnered nationwide attention, as CNN reported that South Dakota
could have become the first state to restrict bathroom access by
gender of birth. Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of
Athlete Ally, an organization founded to promote support of LGBT
causes by straight athletes, spoke
out against the legislation on ESPN's Outside the lines.
With
South Dakotaʼs
senate consisting of 27 Republicans and eight Democrats and the house
of representatives consisting of 58 Republicans and 12 Democrats, a
strict party-line vote would easily override Daugaardʼs veto despite
Deutschʼs request. A two-thirds majority of elected senators and
representatives voting to override Daugaardʼs veto.
That
alone is a painful reminder that the threat of bills such as this
still exists, particularly in places that are hostile grounds for
anyone who identifies as LGBT.
Itʼs
certainly good news that Daugaard vetoed the legislation, even if it
may have been done more out of fear of potential litigation than out
of a heroic need to protect an especially vulnerable minority of
South Dakotans. However, if the legislature voted strictly along
party lines to override Daugaardʼs
veto, it would serve as little more than hollow symbolism.
Regardless
of the outcome in Pierre, the task for all LGBT people and their
allies remains painfully obvious.
In
the immediate wake of a bill that came perilously close to becoming
law, now is not the time for advocates within the LGBT community to
broach the prospect of removing the “T” for transgender people,
as Iʼve
seen some discussion sites ponder on Facebook.
Every
fight for equality by any oppressed minority has needed help from
people in a position to provide it, such as whites marching in Selma,
Ala., men fighting for equal rights for women or straight people
fighting for marriage equality. “Dropping the ‘T’
would be irresponsible at such an early stage in the battle for
transgender equality.
Until
the ugly attitudes such as Omdahlʼs
and people like him espouse become a footnote in history, the fight
for full equality is anything but finished. Attitudes such as his
prove that the real fight is just beginning.
