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LGBT Advances ::
The end of NOM?
Sunday, 11 November 2012 17:06
The 2012 election was a huge turning point for marriage equality. Scott Wooledge reflects today on DailyKos what a disaster last Tuesday was for the not-so-aptly named "National Organization for Marriage" (NOM):
Let's pause and reflect that rarely has a political movement, organization or candidate for all their spending and efforts emerged with so much egg on their face as National Organization for Marriage (NOM) did this cycle. Calling this "The Marriage Election," they tried their best, up and down the ticket to make it a national referendum on gay people's right to marry.
One wonders what this means for South Dakota. For as the nation goes, not always so goes our fine state. Will marriage equality be soon Federalized as was the case with Loving vs Virginia -- or can we convince our own lawmakers to do what what's right before they are forced to by the Supreme Court?
No matter what, it's wonderful to finally see NOM get what it had coming: a major fail for assertion that America agrees with their bigoted viewpoint on LGBT equality.
Voices ::
Episcopal equality group film about the "T" in LGBT
Thursday, 05 July 2012 21:47
Louise Guinther, producer of the video, says:
"... the goal of Voices Of Witness: Out of the Box was to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. We have been blessed by a truly amazing cloud of witnesses who shared their stories and their lives with us. It has been a privilege to work with them to take this project from a dream to a reality as we offer their voices of witness to the church and to the world."
The 27-minute documentary, directed by Douglas Hunter for Integrity USA, has had over 5,000 views on YouTube and been mailed by DVD to every bishop and deputy in the Episcopal Church.
General ::
Daugard Opposition to Gay Marriage Rankles Deaf GLBT Activists
Monday, 04 June 2012 19:35
Daugard to Speak at National Association of the Deaf Conference (Maybe)
June 1, 2012 - Madville Times
Journalistic machine David Montgomery beats me to the punch on some surprising backlash against Governor Dennis Daugaard from some deaf activists. The National Association of the Deaf invited Governor Daugaard to speak at their national conference this July on how deaf people can engage more in politics. Our Governor would make a good speaker at such an event: having grown up with two deaf parents, he signs fluently. He may be the most powerful signing elected official in the country.
But GLBT members of the deaf community went ape, citing Governor Daugaard’s support for South Dakota’s ban on same-sex marriage: Read more Here...
State News ::
"Gay" Bills Killed by SD Legislature
Saturday, 10 March 2012 08:00
The 2012 South Dakota legislative session has ended. Three “gay” bills (one good and the other two bad) were killed and an anti-bullying bill was passed.
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The only pro-gay piece of legislation that was introduced was SB 119 which would have allowed municipalities and counties to include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination ordinations. This bill did not receive much attention since it was killed in its first hearing.
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The bill that became labeled as "the gay bill" and created controversy did not start out with that intent. SB 141 would have revised the legal definition of domestic abuse to include “partners in an intimate relationship.” The bill sailed through the Senate by 34-0 but ran into the conservative element of the House. Rep. Mark Venner (R-Pierre) amended the bill to restrict domestic abuse as occurring between partners "in an intimate relationship with a person of the opposite sex such as marriage or cohabitation." This amended version passed the House 46-22. SB 141 was sent to a conference committee consisting of 5 women and 1 man. The conference committee struck the opposite sex phase and replaced it with "an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, or cohabitation." The House refused to accept the wording change and voted to kill the bill by 39-25.
Rep. Shawn Tornow (R-Sioux Falls) stated "I'm not afraid to say. They want to include gay and lesbian relationships" in explaining his vote to kill SB 141.
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The anti-bullying bill that finally passed was SB 130. The bill requires all school districts that already have not done so to adopt an anti-bullying policy. Currently there are 12 school districts that still do not have a policy. The bill also stipulates what should be in the policy – cyber bullying is one of the provisions. The bill does not require identifying any protected classes of students.
Another anti-gay bill was the surrogacy bill, HB 1255 was promoted by Rep Roger Hunt (R-Brandon) (the darling of the SD Family Policy Council). This bill consisted of only 2 sentences: A surrogacy agreement is void and unenforceable as against public policy. No surrogacy agreement is enforceable. HB 1244 barely passed the House by 36-34 but was killed in Senate committee by 7-0.
To see how your legislator voted on these bills, go to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council 2012 session page and enter the bill number, then follow links to read the bills and see the voting records on each piece of legislation.