skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

SD Group: Keep Marching for LGBTQ Rights, Even After Parades

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 16, 2021   

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - June is LGBTQ Pride Month, which often includes parades and other celebrations. But a South Dakota group says this year, it's asking supporters to show up for the community not only during joyful moments, but when there are challenges.

According to the ACLU, Pride Month festivities still are a vital way to express support, especially since COVID-19 blocked those plans last year. But this spring saw another range of proposals in the Legislature that advocates viewed as an attack on LGBTQ rights.

Janna Farley, communications director for ACLU of South Dakota, said they hope that's not lost on people during the celebrations.

"Just a few months ago, we were fighting, again, more discriminatory, anti-transgender bills," she said. "And you know what? You've just got to think there are probably going to be similar bills next year."

This spring saw a bill restricting transgender youths from participating in school sports. While it didn't become law, Gov. Kristi Noem signed executive orders with similar restrictions. A religious-freedom bill also passed that opponents say opens the door to discrimination. Lawmakers behind these bills insist they're not targeting any specific group, but promoting fairness.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, more than 250 anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in state legislatures in the United States this year, with a record 17 of them becoming law. With national special-interest groups behind this wave, Farley said, it's important for local allies to reach out personally to elected officials from their area.

"If the representatives in your district aren't hearing from their constituents, they're just going to assume that nobody cares, that they can just make up their own mind," she said. "But it's just a reminder that contacting your representatives is like, 'Hey, we're watching and these are issues that I care about.'"

She said that holds true for just about any issue that comes before the Legislature. The ACLU also is asking residents to sign its Pride Pledge, which the group described as a commitment to stand for equality each day.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021