the United States is poised to enact the first statewide restrictions on transgender students in South Dakota, after the senate approved a bill forcing such students to use separate restrooms and locker rooms. Civil rights groups decried the measure as discriminatory while lawmakers portrayed the bill as a privacy measure. The measure’s sponsor, Republican Fred Deutsch, said it was necessary to protect the “bodily privacy rights” of “biologic boys and girls”. So-called bathroom bills have cropped up across the country as the transgender rights movement has grown in size. At least five states have considered similar measures in the past year.
South Dakota is poised to enact the first statewide restrictions on transgender students in the United States, after the senate approved a bill forcing such students to use separate restrooms and locker rooms. Civil rights groups decried the measure as discriminatory while lawmakers portrayed the bill as a privacy measure. The measure’s sponsor, Republican Fred Deutsch, said it was necessary to protect the “bodily privacy rights” of “biologic boys and girls”. So-called bathroom bills have cropped up across the country as the transgender rights movement has grown in size. At least five states have considered similar measures in the past year.