SD Gov. Daugaard's HB 1008 Veto Statement

Surprise, surprise!   South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) has vetoed the unjust HB 1008 bill that would have legislatively attacked trans kids in the state.

He did so on fiscal grounds, and note not a word written about how wrong and dehumanizing it was, but at this point I'll take the win..

Here's the veto statement.

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Gov. Daugaard Vetoes HB 1008

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard has vetoed the following bill:

                    

HB 1008 – An Act to restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools.

For more information about this bill and other bills, visit legis.sd.gov.          

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Note: A copy of the Governor’s veto message follows:

March 1, 2016

The Honorable Dean Wink

Speaker of the House of Representatives

500 East Capitol Avenue

Pierre, SD 57501

Dear Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,

I respectfully return to you House Bill 1008, with my VETO.

House Bill 1008 does not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of South Dakota.  As policymakers in South Dakota, we often recite that the best government is the government closest to the people.  Local school districts can, and have, made necessary restroom and locker room accommodations that serve the best interests of all students, regardless of biological sex or gender identity. 

This bill seeks to impose statewide standards on “every restroom, locker room, and shower room located in a public elementary or secondary school.”  It removes the ability of local school districts to determine the most appropriate accommodations for their individual students and replaces that flexibility with a state mandate.

If and when these rare situations arise, I believe local school officials are best positioned to address them.  Instead of encouraging local solutions, this bill broadly regulates in a manner that invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state.

Preserving local control is particularly important because this bill would place every school district in the difficult position of following state law while knowing it openly invites federal litigation.  Although there have been promises by an outside entity to provide legal defense to a school district, this provision is not memorialized in the bill.  Nor would such defense eliminate the need for school or state legal counsel, nor avoid expenses relating to expert witnesses, depositions and travel, or other defense costs.  Nor does the commitment extend to coverage over settlement or damage expenses.  This law will create a certain liability for school districts and the state in an area where no such liability exists today.

For these reasons, I oppose this bill and ask that you sustain my veto.

Respectfully submitted,

Dennis Daugaard

Christie Vetoes Trans Birth Certificate Bill For Second Time

Governor Transphobe, er Chris Christie (R-NJ) showed his transphobic side again to the people of New Jersey, its trans citizens, the nation and the world by vetoing for the second time a bill that would have allowed trans and intersex people the opportunity to get a clean copy of their birth certificates without undergoing genital surgery..

I would have had he signed it, allowed for a person’s gender marker to be changed upon receipt of a note from their health care provider indicating that the individual has undergone treatment appropriate for a gender transition, in accordance with the most recent medical standards for treating gender dysphoria.

Several states and the District of Columbia already have such policies in place, and this is the second time that he has vetoed such a bill, citing 'fraud and abuse' as his cover excuses for doing so.

Activists in the Garden State were hopeful but not surprised that this veto happened.   There was hope that because this 2015 version of the bill had more bipartisan support, he would possibly sign it, but LGBT activist in the state were less optimistic about that possibility.   They pointed to his need to pander to the GOP conservative base in the rest of the country in an attempt to bolster his 2016 GOP presidential nomination aspirations as to why this TBLG bill would probably get vetoed by him .

As for the possibility of a potential override of his veto?  Not likely even though the Democrats have the majority in both the Assembly (48-32) and the Senate (24-16)    An override would require 27 votes in the Senate, and 54 votes in the Assembly.

That means it would require six Republicans to join that effort in the Assembly and three Republican senators to do so in that chamber, and Republican legislators have traditionally supported their governor..  

The trans birth certificate bill initially passed the Senate 30-6, with four members absent, and the Assembly 51-23, with six members absent.

So trans and intersex New jersey residents once again got thrown under the political bus by their GOp governor.   Why should I not be surprised by that development?

SB 1062 Has Died-Brewer Vetoes Unjust Bill

I asked in a post a few days ago if Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) would do the right thing or the right wing thing in regards to SB1062. 

With pressure mounting on her from outraged people in her state, the TBLG community, business leaders and even the NFL starting to make the initial moves to take next year's Super Bowl out of the state if she signed it,  Brewer finally announced that she has vetoed the unjust SB 1062 bill.

From her press conference remarks moments ago::

Good evening, and thank you for joining me here today.

I am here to announce my decision on Senate Bill 1062.

As with every proposal that reaches my desk, I gave Senate Bill 1062 careful evaluation and deliberate consideration. I call them like I see them, despite the cheers or boos from the crowd.

I took the time necessary to make the RIGHT decision. I met or spoke with my attorneys, lawmakers and citizens supporting and opposing this legislation.

I listened . . . and asked questions.

As Governor, I have protected religious freedoms when there is a specific and present concern that exists in OUR state.

And I have the record to prove it.

My agenda is to sign into law legislation that advances Arizona.

When I addressed the Legislature earlier this year, I made my priorities for this session abundantly clear…
Among them are passing a responsible budget that continues Arizona’s economic Comeback.
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From CEOs -- to entrepreneurs -- to business surveys -- Arizona ranks as one the best states to grow or start a business.

Additionally, our IMMEDIATE challenge is fixing a broken Child Protection system.
Instead, this is the first policy bill to cross my desk.

Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific and present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona. I have not heard of one example in Arizona where a business owner’s religious liberty has been violated.

The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences.

After weighing all of the arguments, I vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago.

To the supporters of the legislation, I want you to know that I understand that long-held norms about marriage and family are being challenged as never before.

Our society is undergoing many dramatic changes. However, I sincerely believe that Senate Bill 1062 has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve.

It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine and no one would ever want.

Religious liberty is a core American and Arizona value, so is non-discrimination.

Going forward, let’s turn the ugliness of the debate over Senate Bill 1062 into a renewed search for greater respect and understanding among ALL Arizonans and Americans.
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Thank you..

And if she hadn't vetoed the bill, Arizona's ability to attract businesses would have been crippled for at least a decade.   Whatever her reasons were for making her decision, bottom line it was the right one.

You do not have the right to discriminate, and you deeply held religious belief are not to be used as a shield for you bigotry and hatred of others.

Christie Vetoes NJ Trans Birth Certificate Bill

For you trans, bi and SGL folks in our community who voted for Sergeant Schultz New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) in the last election cycle thinking he was a 'moderate', well, here's something to burst your bubble concerning that misguided line of thinking in addition to the ongoing BridgeGate scandal.

The New Jersey Senate passed on a 21-11 vote back in December A-4097/S-2786, a bill that revises the procedure to issue amended birth certificates for persons born in New Jersey who have undergone a gender transition.  The bill would allow them do so without surgical intervention. 

The bill had previously passed the New Jersey General Assembly on a 43-37 vote back in June.

Christie today gave A-4097 an ABSOLUTE veto, which means it needs a 2/3 majority in both houses to override the veto.  Translation: that's 27 Senate votes and 54 General Assembly votes. 

That means the Democrats, who have the majority in both houses, would not only have to get everyone in their caucus to vote to override, need to have 3 Republicans cross the aisle in the NJ Senate to do so and on the General Assembly side get 7 Republicans to cross party lines to do so.

Seeing that the bill passed the 40 member New Jersey Senate with 21 votes and the 80 member General Assembly with 43 votes, they would need to flip 6 NO votes in the senate and 13 NO votes in the general assembly to reach that override threshold. 

Not likely that's going to happen on the GOP side, especially with a governor with a reputation for punishing his enemies, even if he is politically wounded right now. 

So if you needed another reason to not like Chris Christie, here it is.
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Christie Vetoes Gay Marriage, Cue The Negative Fatphobic Reaction

Well, well well, isn't this interesting that another white male Republican governor acts as an oppressor to the GL(bt) community and the GL boys and girls are shocked, shocked that it happened.  

And especially the clueless sellouts in GOProud.

Gov. Chris Christie did what Republican governors with a national audience usually do in this situation and vetoed the gay marriage bill a day after the New Jersey legislature passed it by a 41-33 margin in the NJ Assembly and a 24-16 margin in the NJ Senate earlier in the week. 

Elections matter people.   Did you GL peeps in New Jersey (and elsewhere) really think that a northeastern GOP governor that is being considered as a 2012 vice presidential nominee and is a favorite for the 2016 presidential nomination in the Republican Party would sign that bill?   You don't need a doctorate in political science to know the answer to that question.  

And how did the vanillacentric privileged readership in the gayosphere react?   By being justifiably angry about it.  But unfortunately some rainbow peeps stooped to the level of engaging in fatphobic attacks on Christie. 

I was really bothered by one I saw in the Queerty comment threads on the veto story with commenter CBRad combining fatphobia with misgendering bigotry in the insult this waste of DNA aimed at Christie.

No. 12 · CBRad
…he looks like Pam Spaulding in drag .

Posted: Feb 17, 2012 at 7:36 pm · @Reply · [Flag?]

CBRad, this is Pam Spaulding.  The editrix of Pam's House Blend is not only a cis female since it escaped your ignorant attention, she's happily married to her partner Kate as well. 

Note she doesn't look like Chris Christie, especially since she's African-American and he ain't.  She is also one of the people in the Afrosphere I have mad respect for.
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Even though Pam and I respectfully disagree on just how much attention should be focused on marriage equality in the rainbow civil rights movement vis a vis ENDA and other pressing issues, one thing we see eye to eye on is that we are both proud African-Americans who believe trans and SGL peeps in our community need to be involved in pushing rainbow human rights issues.  

But you misgendering Pam was a low blow I and other African-Americans didn't fracking appreciate.

I'm tired of Black women trans and cis being misgendered and having unwoman shade hurled at them by ignorant people wallowing in vanillacentric privilege. 

It was also uncalled for especially when she's a longtime supporter of marriage equality and ossifies the perception of non-white members of the GLBT community that we are only members of it at your whim or when you want melanin in the photos of your events to prove how diverse you are.    

CBRad, if you and the rest of the like minded GL community peeps want to fling juvenile insults at Chris Christie all day, that's on you.   Still doesn't change the fact he vetoed the NJ marriage equality marriage bill and doesn't get you any closer to making it happen in New Jersey or anywhere else in this nation.  .