South Dakota politicians are hard at work this session coming up with new ways to restrict civil rights and liberties. Year after year abortion care, LGBT equality, and First Amendment rights are on the chopping block.
Several bills are being considered this week seeking to limit the rights of LGBT people, restrict and criminalize abortion, and chill First Amendment activity. South Dakota: it’s crunch time. It’s imperative that everyday citizens do the job of showing up, speaking up, and holding representatives accountable for upholding our values and reminding those who seek to elevate the viewpoints and experiences of some above all else, that we are South Dakota and we value equality and inclusion for all.
E-mail, call, show up to your Legislative Coffees and Cracker Barrels to send the message that:
I am South Dakota:
I have the right to make my own healthcare decisions, which includes unrestricted access to abortion and reproductive health services. I have the right to make the best decisions for me and my family in consultation with my doctor – without interference from meddling politicians.
I have the right to a quality education on par with my peers across the nation that prepares me for college and an increasingly globalized job market. I have the right to curriculum that is scientifically sound and not designed to promote religious ideology above proven fact.
I have the right to access businesses, government agencies, and housing free of discrimination. I have the right to expand and raise my family and care for my children, regardless of my sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, or marital status.
I have the right to attend public schools on the same terms as my peers, without fear of being singled out, treated differently, or discriminated against simply because of who I am.
I have the right to demonstrate, protest, and express my political beliefs without fear of retaliation.
I have the right to practice my religious beliefs and the expression thereof without fear of being persecuted, singled out, or discriminated against.
