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State News ::
Hate Crimes Prevention Act - Topic of recent Sioux Falls Meeting
Monday, 03 October 2011 20:11
Prosecutors laud update to federal hate crimes act
Argus Leader - Beth Wischmeyer - Sept. 28, 2011
Federal prosecutors say hate crimes inflict great harm against society, and a recently passed act helps further ensure the safety and civil rights of Americans.
U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Koliner held an information session Wednesday in Sioux Falls about the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in late 2009.
"It's a very important piece of federal legislation that, in my view, was kind of passed with a whisper in late 2009," Koliner said. "This was really an act that took 20 years of hard work of various, very brave legislators to get this passed."
Read more Here...
State News ::
(Date change for Sioux Falls) Justice Dept Invitation to Participate in Town Hall Meetings
Monday, 05 September 2011 19:56
September 9, 2011
Dear Members of Equality South Dakota,
I am excited for the upcoming public town hall meetings where I can discuss the Mattthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act with people in the Rapid City and Sioux Falls communities. I appreciate you supporting my effort to protect the safety and civil rights of every South Dakotan, and I look forward to starting a dialogue with friends and members of the GLBT community about fostering safe communities.
Due to a scheduling conflict, I have had to change the date of the Sioux Falls meeting. It will now be held on Wednesday, September 28 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm at the Sioux Falls Main Library (Downtown), 200 N. Dakota Avenue. I am hopefi that this date change does not cause confusion or frustration on anyone's part, and I hope that you are able to help me spread the word about the change.
The Rapid City meeting will be on Wednesday, September 14, from 7-8 pm at the Rapid City Public Library (downtown), 610 Quincy Street.
The Sioux Falls meeting will be on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, from 7-8 pm at the Sioux Falls Main Library (Downtown), 200 N. Dakota Avenue.
Thank you and best regards.
Brendan V. Johnson - United States Attorney, South Dakota
State News ::
Same-sex Couples Increase in City, State
Tuesday, 30 August 2011 19:43
Rapid City Journal - Nick Penzenstadler Journal staff | Posted: 08/25/2011
When Freddie Magnavito married his partner, Dan, in the Black Forest Inn near Rapid City in 2006, it was one of the first same-sex weddings in the Black Hills.
"A lot of folks had never experienced that or seen a same-sex wedding," said Freddie's mother, Sandy Magnavito. "I thought it was eye-opening. He had a lot of support from people around the city."
Because South Dakota does not allow same-sex marriages, the ceremony was symbolic and has no legal standing. Since that time, the couple has moved to the state of Washington, but the Rapid City community and South Dakota have continued to become more open to the concept.
In fact, in South Dakota, 1,390 couples identified themselves as same sex, according to new figures from 2010 Census. That is up from 826 in 2000. Rapid City also saw numbers more than double in 10 years, to 140 from 59 couples that registered as same-sex in the census.
Read more Here...
For access to the Williams Institue School of Law report as noted in the article which relates to South Dakota is available at: UCLA School of Law
State News ::
Gay Rights Allegations hit Ward 2 Council Race
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 10:10
Kevin Woster - Rapid City Journal staff - 06/02/2011
Ritchie Nordstrom is losing votes and at least a few yard signs in the final days of his campaign for the Rapid City Council because of a mass mailing that accuses him of promoting a “radical homosexual agenda.”
Nordstrom, one of four candidates in the race for a council seat from Ward 2, was the target of a pink mailing sent to ward residents by Family Matters PAC, a conservative political action committee based in Hermosa and coordinated by David Astin. The mailing shows a picture of a person with a bag over his head, next to the headline: “What is city council candidate Ritchie Nordstrom trying to hide?”
A second picture in the mailing shows two young men with their heads close together, holding hands and smiling, near a headline that reads: “Ritchie Nordstrom says YOU should accept this.”
Read more Here...