South Dakota Archives - American Atheists https://www.atheists.org/tag/south-dakota/ Protecting the absolute separation of religion from government. Sat, 23 Feb 2019 23:34:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 125490277 Atheists Oppose South Dakota’s Anti-Trans Children Bill https://www.atheists.org/2019/02/south-dakota-transgender-bill/ Sat, 23 Feb 2019 23:34:00 +0000 https://www.atheists.org/?p=10309 Pierre, South Dakota—This week, American Atheists, on behalf of its constituents in South Dakota, wrote in opposition to HB 1225. This controversial bill would intensify discrimination against transgender students in South Dakota’s high school athletics programs. HB 1225 would mix church and state by turning specific religious views of gender into law. In addition, this bill would harm an already vulnerable population of young people. Specifically, it would make them far more susceptible to bullying and harassment in South Dakota due to state-mandated exclusion. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey described the rampant bullying and harassment that transgender students already face, concluding that 54% of those who were out or perceived as transgender in K–12 were verbally harassed; 24% were physically attacked; 17% left a K-12 schools because the mistreatment was so bad. “The South Dakota House has a clear choice in this matter. Either they choose to intensify the unnecessary victimization of a historically marginalized demographic of students or to foster empathy and diversity and set a precedent of equality by rejecting HB 1225,” wrote Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy.

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]]> 10309 American Atheists opposes South Dakota’s anti-transgender high school bill https://www.atheists.org/2019/01/south-dakota-anti-transgender-high-school-bill-sb-49/ Thu, 24 Jan 2019 05:19:15 +0000 https://www.atheists.org/?p=9981 Pierre, SD—American Atheists, on behalf of its constituents in South Dakota, wrote in opposition to SB 49, a controversial bill that would intensify systemic discrimination against transgender students in South Dakota’s high school athletics programs. SB 49 would require transgender student athletes to be identified by the gender assigned on their birth certificate or, if the student lacks a birth certificate, noted by a physician on the South Dakota High School Activities Association Physical Exam Form. Read the full comments below.

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