Sponsors of a legislative measure dictating that people use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate announced that they will be abandoning their effort and wait for a new Governor, but also made a point to call the bathroom/locker room mandate “an issue for the legislature, not the ballot.”
According to the associated press:
A major supporter of restricting which facilities transgender students could use in South Dakota schools plans to pause its effort at the Capitol and instead wait until the 2019 session when a new, potentially more favorable governor will be in office, a top official said Thursday.
Family Heritage Alliance Action won’t bring a “student privacy act” next session in part because of GOP Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s past opposition, said Ed Randazzo, the nonprofit’s director of political operations.
And…
But Randazzo said he’s buoyed because the two top Republicans vying to succeed Daugaard — Attorney General Marty Jackley and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem — have offered support for the idea. Daugaard can’t run again next year because of term limits and leaves office in 2019.
And…
Randazzo said that the last he’d heard, the initiative (similar measure backed by another individual – pp) was going to be withdrawn. He said it’s an issue for the Legislature, not the ballot.
“The reason for that is: I think you invite outside forces, outside money, outside interests … influencing the laws of South Dakota, and we don’t particularly like that,” Randazzo said.
Whatever you think about the bathroom measure, not putting it to the ballot because it should go through the legislature is actually a refreshing change of pace.
Is it too much to hope that the legislature will ignore the issue so we can all stop hearing about it?
There’s nothing honorable about this. They know full well that this preposterous issue will be defeated overwhelmingly if voted on by the people. Their only chance for success is through the legislature.
1 down 16 to go!
What a waste of time.