NCTE Applauds South Dakota Governor Daugaard for Veto of HB 1008

Washington, D.C. - March 1, 2016 – The National Center for Transgender Equality thanks South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard for his veto of HB 1008, which would have completely disrupted the school lives of hundreds of transgender students. By taking this action, Gov. Daugaard has shown that discrimination against transgender people is not a South Dakota value.

NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling, who was on the ground in South Dakota last week, said, "Gov. Daugaard has demonstrated true leadership in listening to the hundreds of transgender South Dakotans and their families who would have been directly impacted by this bill. He has made a carefully informed decision that protects all students in South Dakota. His example shows that scare tactics can be overcome by understanding who trans people really are."

While today's news is a major victory for fairness, there is still much more work to be done to combat the pervasive attacks on transgender people in South Dakota and around the country. What happened in South Dakota today is a huge step on the way to ensuring that all transgender people can live full lives, safely and without fear of discrimination.

NCTE thanks the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, the Center for Equality in Sioux Falls, and Equality South Dakota, as well as the national ACLU and the Human Rights Campaign, for all of their hard work combating this bill.

The National Center for Transgender Equality is the nation's leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. As a national social justice organization, NCTE is devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people.