ACLU of South Dakota

In classrooms and libraries across the country, a coordinated attack on students’ right to learn is underway.

Book bans and efforts to restrict instruction on diverse topics, like racism or sexism, only make learning harder.

High School Students Explain Why We Can’t Let Classroom Censorship Win Elisabeth Snyder, Communications Intern, ACLU Allison Swann, Communications Intern, ACLU In U.S. classrooms and libraries, a coordinated attack on students’ right to learn is underway.Since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills or taken other steps to restrict how teachers can teach about ...

If Kamala Harris is elected president, the ACLU is prepared to push her administration to champion policies that protect our LGBTQ community.

Why a Harris Presidency Promises Hope for LGBTQ Rights | ACLU The Biden-Harris administration’s record of improving protections for LGBTQ people suggests that Kamala Harris would be a champion for the community if elected.

Our thanks to Samantha Chapman of the ACLU of South Dakota for talking to us about their Election Observer Program today. ACLU training to be an election observer is Aug. 21st 5:45 to 7:45 pm in Room A of the Downtown Library. You can register for their training here:
https://action.aclu.org/webform/sd-sf-election-observer

Are you a member of the League? Join us at https://my.lwv.org/south-dakota/join-league

The League of Women Voters: Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would require people to prove their age before accessing adult material online, according to South Dakota Searchlight.

Given this digital landscape, it is understandable that people want to shield kids from explicit materials intended for adults. But limiting minors’ access to online content would ultimately violate the constitutional rights of adult South Dakotans.

Requiring internet users to share personal data, such as a photo ID, with companies to verify the user’s age would undoubtedly have a chilling effect on free expression online. The legitimate fear of having personal information exposed may deter adults from accessing legal and consensual adult content, thereby limiting their freedom to explore and express themselves in a private digital space.

In the history of the Internet, we’ve never been required to present an official ID to merely visit a website. We can make the internet safer using the tools already at our disposal as parents without sacrificing the privacy and constitutional rights of all South Dakotans.

South Dakota attorney general tells lawmakers to consider age verification for p**n sites • South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota's Attorney General urged lawmakers on Wednesday to require people to prove their age before accessing adult material online.

Aberdeen friends! Interested in volunteering? Want to learn more about the ACLU? Stop by the Red Rooster Coffee House anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesday,, Aug. 20, to chat with Samantha Chapman, the ACLU of South Dakota’s advocacy manager.

Change happens in our communities when we talk to each other and share our ideas. Let’s talk about it over a great cup of coffee!

Hope to see you there!

Misinformation about abortion has been used for years to divide South Dakotans on this issue.

Learn how to spark change in your community with informed conversations.

Let’s Talk About Abortion, South Dakota. We can’t let politicians and anti-abortion activists twist the narrative about this very common, very safe medical procedure any longer.

What are you doing on Nov. 5? Besides voting that is! If you're interested in volunteering with the ACLU's Election Protection Team, we have Election Observer trainings in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls next week.

ACLU OF SD looking for “Election Observer” volunteers The ACLU chapter of South Dakota is now looking to expand their ability to ensure cases like this aren’t necessary.

Trans kids shouldn't have to fight so hard just to be kids.

What are you doing on Nov. 5? (Besides voting, that is!) We're looking for Election Observers to join our Election Protection Team in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.

Election Observers will play a crucial role in monitoring polling places for issues affecting voters, ensuring there is no voter disenfranchisement, and tracking any problems that can be fixed for future elections.

Want to learn more? RSVP with the link the comments to attend one of our training sessions to become a 2024 Election Observer.

The ACLU asked people from six battleground congressional districts across five states about their views on public safety. The majority of respondents agree that investing in the root causes of homelessness, unemployment, and poverty, like investing in affordable housing and job training, is a more effective solution than relying on punishment and incarceration.

To end the cycle of homelessness, people need support — not fines or jail time.

Say it again louder for the people in the back...

At no point in pregnancy is a politician more qualified to make decisions about your body than you and your health care providers.

That's why we must vote for reproductive freedom champions this fall to get politicians out of our exam rooms.

Freedom of expression protects our right to read, learn, and share ideas free from viewpoint-based censorship.

Free societies read freely — period.

📣 Abortion is health care 📣

OBGYNs are seeing more pregnant patients with dangerous medical complications since the Dobbs decision, while also receiving less training as residents about how to perform abortions, a new report finds.

Some OB-GYNs aren't getting abortion training, report finds, while pregnancy complications are on the rise House Democrats, in a monthslong investigation, interviewed leaders of OB-GYN residency programs and found worrisome effects of abortion restrictions.

Like it or not, access to po*******hy is a First Amendment right, which is why we advocated against an online age verification bill during the 2023 session that would have violated the constitutional rights of adult South Dakotans.

How the American war on p**n could change the way you use the internet Papers please: for millions of Americans, accessing online po*******hy now requires a government ID. It could have global implications for the future of the web.

This time of year, Sturgis is a place where people come to party. But the bike rally is one of the primary drivers of human trafficking in South Dakota, according to Native Hope, a South Dakota-based non-profit organization that aims to address inequalities facing Indigenous people.

The Medicine Wheel Riders ride to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. This year, a documentary is amplifying their efforts to educate others on MMIR.

‘We belong here too', Indigenous-led ride returns to Sturgis Medicine Wheel Ride brings in record number of 220 registered participants for a ride across the northern Black Hills

Hey, Sioux Falls! What are you doing on November 5? (Besides voting, that is!) Want to join our Election Protection Team?

Election Observers will play a crucial role in monitoring polling places for issues affecting voters, ensuring there is no voter disenfranchisement, and tracking any problems that can be fixed for future elections. You don't have to have any specific expertise – we'll train you! Sign up for more info and join us on Aug. 21 to learn more.

Join the ACLU's Election Protection Team in Sioux Falls Volunteer with me as an Election Observer with the 's Election Protection Team.

Immigrants make America great. 🗣️

There are only 90 days until Election Day!

✅ Moved or changed your name? Update your voter registration.
✅ Register to vote by Oct. 21.
✅ Vote like your rights depend on it.

➡️ www.aclusd.org/vote ⬅️

Today is the 59th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. But as November's election approaches, discriminatory election practices continue to impact voters of color. These measures – such as criminalizing providing food or water to voters in line, limiting drop boxes for absentee ballots and racially gerrymandered district maps – disproportionately disenfranchise Black and Brown voters.

We must all show our collective commitment to stop these attacks on the right to vote and ensure all voices are heard. Will you add your name to our petition now urging Congress to support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act? This is a crucial step toward ensuring fair and inclusive elections and honoring John Lewis's legacy for civil rights.

Congress: Protect Our Voting Rights It's past time for robust federal protections on voting rights. We need a Congress that will pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Take action.

LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit youth deserve to grow up with love, support, and care — not defending themselves from political attacks. 🌈

Leveraging the Chevron case to unravel reproductive rights is yet another example that the anti-abortion movement is not stopping at abortion.

North Dakota is one of 17 states trying to use the Chevron ruling to remove the EEOC’s approved leave of absence for abortion care.

"It's not just about abortion": How the Chevron ruling could unravel reproductive rights Experts weigh in on our destabilized Supreme Court and how more than environmental regulation is being threatened

Boy, it sure is a hot one today, huh?

Leveraging the Chevron case to unravel reproductive rights is yet another example that the anti-abortion movement is not stopping at abortion.

South Dakota is one of 17 states trying to use the Chevron ruling to remove the EEOC’s approved leave of absence for abortion care.

"It's not just about abortion": How the Chevron ruling could unravel reproductive rights Experts weigh in on our destabilized Supreme Court and how more than environmental regulation is being threatened

Some of South Dakota's elected officials would rather spend time in court than extend updated Title IX federal protections to our state's LGBTQ students.

Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states • South Dakota Searchlight Though the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations.

Fact check: Flag burning is political speech that is fully protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump calls for jail sentence for desecrating flag: ‘Stupid people’ will say it’s unconstitutional Former President Trump said there should be a one-year jail sentence for anyone who desecrates the American flag in the wake of anti-Israel protests over the war in Gaza outside Union Station in Wa…

Marriage is about commitment, love, sharing and compromise. It is a private, personal choice that should not be denied to anyone. The same can be said about divorce.

That’s why no-fault divorce – meaning that the filing spouse is not required to show wrongdoing by the other spouse as the reason for dissolution of the marriage – is so important.

The motivation behind a growing effort to repeal no-fault divorce is fueled by a desire to rewrite society to fit within conservative faith-based family values – where one man and one woman marry, have children, and remain married until death. While this is a lifepath that many people choose, it’s also a vision that leaves little room for the complexities we face in our ever-changing world and the various ways these complexities impact our lives.

Extreme ideology about what American family life should look like becomes dangerous when it morphs into public policy.

Creating spaces and practices that affirm people’s names and pronouns is a step toward greater inclusion. Way to go, Spirit of Peace UCC!

Words matter

To create a more respectful and inclusive church body, there are now pronoun stickers available to add to you name tag. Please feel free to add your pronouns and be mindful of looking and asking others their pronouns. The stickers are available in the narthex.

July 28 marks Parents’ Day in the United States. Today, we take time to recognize and celebrate the parents who fight for better futures for their children, families, and community.

We also denounce the politicians who use parents as political pawns in their fight against trans health care and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit equality nationwide.



Image Description: White text next to an illustration of a family that reads, "Happy Parents’ Day to all the parents out there who fight for better futures for their families."

Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day. We recognize the unjust compensation Black women see in employment, and recommit to the fight toward ending the racial and gender pay gap.