Protesters call for repeal of HB 1080, South Dakota's gender-affirming care ban

Dozens of LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people, and their allies, stood in opposition to South Dakota’s gender-affirming care ban, House Bill 1080, on Friday night and called for its repeal in the next legislative session.

The bill went into effect July 1 and requires minors to stop all components of their medical transition by the end of 2023, and limits any form of gender-affirming medical care for minors going forward in the state.

Multiple speakers at the “We Won’t Go Back” protest held in downtown Sioux Falls at Van Eps Park called for the bill to be repealed at the next legislative session, which begins in January.

However, support for such a repeal isn’t likely in the statehouse, where HB 1080 was supported by 60 of 70 Representatives, 30 of 35 Senators and signed into law by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem this winter.

More: A decade of hate: How anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has shaped legislation in Pierre

Rep. Kameron Nelson (D-Sioux Falls) voted against the bill when it was in the House and spoke at the protest Friday. He said the three Republican representatives who voted down the bill in the House -- Rep. Mike Derby (R-Rapid City), Rep. Jessica Olson (R-Rapid City) and Rep. Dennis Krull (R-Hill City) -- alongside all seven House Democrats, deserve respect for what they did.

Nelson described for the crowd how supporters of the bill bused people in from all across the state to introduce the bill in a press conference, which he called “fear-mongering.”

“I’m mad as hell, y’all,” Nelson said as he opened his speech. “We must call out bigotry (and) demand that (legislators) repeal HB 1080. We won’t give up. We’ll do what’s right. We’ll protect trans kids in the state of South Dakota.”

Samantha Chapman, a lobbyist with the ACLU of South Dakota, noted the bill was opposed by people from in the state, like trans youth, doctors, parents, psychologists and more, and said those people were ignored. Chapman called for the bill to be repealed in 2024, and encouraged protesters to write to their legislators demanding its repeal.

Elizabeth Broekemeier, a parent to a trans son, spoke Friday about how the bill personally affects her family and said getting her son the care he needs requires taking time off, traveling to Minnesota, time off of school, childcare for her other child, financial burdens and more.

“They’re coming for everyone’s rights,” Broekemeier said of a majority of legislators in Pierre who voted in favor of HB 1080.

Wyatt Williams, a 16-year-old, said his existence as a trans boy doesn’t have to be political and isn't a problem. He said because of the anti-trans rhetoric in South Dakota, he feels he has to speak up.

Dylan Daniels, a Two Spirit person and a nurse at South Dakota Urban Indian Health, said his presence is a testament that trans people can’t be erased, and that gender-affirming care is both “life-saving and life-giving.”

“Everyone in the medical field needs to be angry right now,” Daniels said.

Protest organizer Everett Moran said the protest was meant to show the community “we don’t accept” HB 1080 and it needs to go away. He said he hopes legislators take the time to come to protests like this in the future, or reach out to local trans people.

Attendees like Irene Dangles and Sydney Eager came to the protest to show their support for the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit community, and their opposition to HB 1080. Dangles said she knows and loves quite a few trans people, and wants to send a message that trans rights are human rights. Eager said HB 1080 is “purely hateful and bigoted.”

More: What would make South Dakota safer for the LGBTQ+ community? Not just policies alone.

“(HB 1080) is the opposite of what people like Kristi Noem espouse,” Eager said. “In a state where our legislators support freedom, they’re repeatedly stripping rights away from parents and citizens.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Protesters call for repeal of HB 1080, SD gender-affirming care ban