Category: South Dakota

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Trend Watch – Five States Seek To Provide Faith-Based Adoption Protections To Date

According to this article, the count is up to five.  Five states now provide or are moving forward to providing for faith-based religious protections for adoption agencies which place a child’s needs and best interest below the religiously held beliefs of the adoption agency.  Essentially allowing an adoption agency to ignore a child’s best interests over religiously held beliefs.

The five states are:  Alabama (passed on May 3, 2017), South Dakota (passed in March 2017), Virginia (passed in 2012), Texas (pending legislation), and Oklahoma (pending legislation).

Georgia was moving in this direction, but the bill died when the legislature adjourned without acting on it in March 2017. 

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San Francisco — City Employees Banned From Official Travel to South Dakota In Response to Anti-Gay Adoption Legislation

Here’s an article with audio recording where the Governor of South Dakota tries to explain why he feels the bill he signed allowing adoption agencies to discriminate is not anti-gay adoption in an attempt to convince states not to enact travel bans on South Dakota.  The article also mentions that the State of California may soon follow San Francisco by banning all official State of California business travel to South Dakota.

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South Dakota – Governor Signs Law Friday “Protecting” Faith Based Adoption Agencies

The conservative panic that South Dakota’s Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard would not sign a bill “protecting” faith based adoption agencies appears to have been misguided.  The conservative fear was that the Governor was not seeking reelection and had a tiny history of bucking the conservative party line on gun rights.  This caused some to believe that the Governor might not sign the bill.   However, this past Friday, Governor Daugaard signed the bill establishing legal protections for adoption agencies who discriminate based on their religious beliefs according to this article. 

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South Dakota -> Uncertainty Over Governor Signing Religious Adoption Agency Bill Into Law

According to this article, South Dakota’s Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard is not a lock on signing South Dakota’s religious adoption agency bill into law.  This bill would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against families based on the agency’s religious beliefs.

The uncertainty over Governor Dauggard stems from the Governor not seeking reelection along with his past history of refusing to sign into law bills advanced by the conservative party regarding transgender restrooms and expansion of gun rights.

So far, three states – Michigan, North Dakota, and Virginia – have laws establishing “religious freedoms” for adoption agencies.

 

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South Dakota -> Religious Freedom Bill Proposed Permitting Discrimination against LGBT Families by Adoption Agencies

A proposed bill  in South Dakota would allow adoption agencies to cite religious freedom as grounds to deny services to LGBT families according to this report.   

You may follow the bill as it goes through the legislature here.

 

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