EQSD
PAC
Stay Informed
Sign up with your e-mail address now to keep informed about LGBT issues in South Dakota.
EqSD is Seeking Interns
If you have some time to give, we can put you to work and provide a meaningful learning experience.
Content
General ::
EqSD looks back on 2008
Wednesday, 31 December 2008 12:00
The members and supporters of EqSD have accomplished much in 2008.
We've had a busy election year--a great year of significant activity that is changing our State.
Equality South Dakota has been getting the word out, too: editorial pieces and letters in our newspapers, messages of hope and truth posted on the web, and appearances on radio and TV. We have grown from two sister organizations to now three: Equality SD, Equality SD Political Action Committee, and a new educational and service organization, Equality South Dakota Institute.
We are not resting on our laurels -- in 2009, you can look forward to seeing us on the web, in your email box, on the street, and in Pierre.
Our supporters have made this possible. You are invited to get involved in any way you can:
- Speak up. Tell your friends: South Dakota is moving forward!
- Volunteer. Help with an event or issue that interests you.
- If you can, please donate, in any amount -- financial support from South Dakotans like you is needed!
Some may ask: why is LGBT equality so important even in these challenging economic times, when everyone struggling?
I feel that especially now, we simply cannot afford to leave anyone, including LGBT people, behind. We need everyone at the table, and equality for all is critical to our economic, educational, and let's face it, moral strength.
Fairness is a South Dakota value; and our strong values are part and parcel of what our state offers to the region and the Nation.
Here's to more equality in South Dakota in 2009!
Curtis Price
Treasurer, Equality South Dakota
p.s. A list of the year's highlights follows -- none of which would have happened without your support.
SD's Jon Hoadley - Obama and Beyond
Sunday, 28 December 2008 14:01
Metro Weekly: Interview with Jon Hoadley
by Sean Bugg
Elections are natural emotional rollercoasters, plunging from heady heights to profound lows. For the GBLT community, 2008 was particularly high -- and painfully low.
Even as Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency -- and with more than two-thirds of gays and lesbians voting for him -- Florida and Arizona voters approved amendments banning same-sex marriage and Arkansas took the retrograde step of effectively barring adoption and foster-parenting by gays and lesbians.
But the lowest moment had to be the passage of California's Proposition 8, a measure to end marriage equality for gays and lesbians in the state. As a result, thousands of gay and lesbian couples find the legality of their marriages no longer certain.
While demoralizing, the passage of Proposition 8 has also proved galvanizing, with protests sprouting across the country, including D.C. And as President-elect Obama begins his transition into the White House, the GLBT community faces a time of great opportunity on the federal level.
We asked the leaders of a number of national GLBT and HIV/AIDS organizations their thoughts on the new administration, what the community can achieve, and what the victory of anti-gay campaigns across the country means for the GLBT movement.
State News ::
Huge Victory for LGBT Families in South Dakota!
Sunday, 19 October 2008 19:41
EqSD is pleased to announce a big step in the direction of equality in our state. As of Oct. 1, all employers in South Dakota who use Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield as their carrier can offer Domestic Partner health coverage to employees. Affordable health care is a top concern for all South Dakotans but LGBT families face unique barriers such as limited access to employer sponsored group plans due to lack of relationship recognition. EqSD is working to change this.
If you are among the 80% of workers employed by small companies, you are newly eligible as of now. Large companies with Wellmark coverage already provide this benefit. Ask your employer for details. If your employer has not yet heard of this, ask them to contact their Wellmark account representative who will be well versed on the change. To enroll, you will likely be asked to submit an affidavit of domestic partnership. This typically calls for documentation such as proof of joint lease or mortgage, joint bank accounts, life insurance beneficiary designation, or legal documents such as wills or powers of attorney.
How did this Victory come about?
National News ::
SD LGBT Community Represented at Democratic National Convention
Wednesday, 03 September 2008 10:10
The South Dakota LGBT community had two "out" representatives at the Democratic National Convention that was held in Denver from August 25-28. Attending were Martin Yeung of Rapid City and Liz Himmel-Roberts of Hartford.
Yeung attended as the LGBT member of the South Dakota delegation. Yeung, a Spearfish native, worked previously as an assistant in the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton Administration. He then was on the staff of Congressman Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania. Yeung returned to South Dakota in April 2007 to manage his parents' restaurants -- the Great Wall and Imperial in Rapid City. Yeung is also deeply involved in local area Democratic politics and fundraising and is a member of Equality SD Political Action Committee. (See Martin's blog post about the convention)
Liz Himmel-Roberts, attended as an alternate delegate, and served on the rules committee as an appointee of the Clinton campaign. Himmel-Roberts was also a delegate to the 2004 National Convention in New York City.
Angie Buhl of Vermillion, who is a board member of EqSD, attended the national convention of Stonewall Democrats (the LGBT Democratic organization) that was held in Denver the weekend before the Democratic National Convention.