February 25, 2016

The Honorable Dennis Daugaard

Office of the Governor
State Capitol
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501-5070

Dear Governor Daugaard:

I hope this letter finds you well and that you will receive this in a timely manner. I
have a story to share with you about a great native son of your state. He was a
Republican who loved South Dakota and served the people of your great state and
had a positive impact on me.
My great-grandparents were early settlers of Redfield, South Dakota. After my
great-grandad Charles Tisdale Howard graduated from college and passed the bar
exam, he and his family moved to the Spink County seat in 1882, where he practiced
law and was active in the Republican party.
South Dakota became a state in 1889 and he was appointed as the first U.S. Attorney
for South Dakota by President Benjamin Harrison. In 1894, he ran for a House seat in
the South Dakota state legislature and was elected the fourth speaker of the House.
The Republican party in South Dakota today would be unrecognizable to my
great-grandfather. At the end of the 19th century, the GOP was devoted to protecting
and advancing the rights of African-Americans and former slaves. Today South

Dakota Republicans are committed to advancing homophobia and transphobia while

bullying and inflicting irreparable harm on minority groups in your state.
Im referring to HB 1008 an Act to restrict access to certain restrooms and locker
rooms in public schools.
Im writing to express my concern that national, state and local anti-LGBT
organizations are spreading propaganda and misinformation to demonize transgender
people and exert pressure on you to sign this punitive and unnecessary measure.
I applaud you for meeting with transgender activists a few days ago. Meeting your
constituents and hearing their personal stories is the most effective way to learn
about a disenfranchised community. I hope you will continue that dialogue.
Concomitantly, I must urge you to veto HB 1008, because signing this bill would
subject young school-age South Dakotans to increased scrutiny which will negatively
impact their lives. This bill endangers their physical safety, health, mental health and
personal privacy. In addition, if this bill becomes law your state will be penalized by
the US Department of Education. How will a reduction in federal funds affect your
state budget and teacher pay?
Right now you have two options. You can sign the bill and be cheered and praised by
the extreme right-wing elements of the Republican party. Or you can be courageous
and veto the bill, and be a true humanitarian who cares about the well-being of all
South Dakotans (Washington state and Virginia both rejected similar measures
recently).

You and your state legislators should know that anti-transgender bias is directly
responsible for increased levels of verbal and physical harassment, violence, family
rejection, housing instability and discrimination in health care and employment. This
bill would add to that.
Anti-LGBT violence impacts the transgender community disproportionately, and 72
percent of anti-LGBT homicide victims are transgender women while 67 percent of
anti-LGBT homicide victims are transgender women of color.
The 2014 National Transgender Discrimination Survey revealed the following:
1. Transgender people who experience bullying, rejection and discrimination
have a higher rate of suicide attempts.
2. 78 percent of survey respondents who suffered physical or sexual violence at
school reported suicide attempts.
3.

65 percent of survey respondents who experienced violence at work reported

suicide attempts.

4. 51 percent of survey respondents who experienced harassment or bullying in

schools reported suicide attempts.
5. 57 percent of survey respondents who reported that their family chose not
to speak/spend time with them reported suicide attempts.
6. 19 percent of survey respondents said they had suffered domestic abuse
because of their gender identity.
7. 50 percent of survey respondents admit that they've been harassed in the
workplace.
And those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Rep. Charles Tisdale Howard of Redfield married Eugenia Beecher, and they named
their fourth child Harriet (my grandmother) after Eugenias favorite aunt Harriet
Beecher Stowe. When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, it
was reported that he said: so you are the little woman who wrote the book that
started this great war.
Charles and Eugenia Howard had four children, nine grandchildren, and twenty-six
great-grandchildren. They had no way of knowing that they would have two gay
great-grandchildren and that one would be an LGBT activist.
From Harriet Beecher Stowe to Charles and Eugenia Howard, to Admiral Roy A. Gano
and Harriet Howard Gano (my grandparents), to my own parents, it was instilled in me
to not be disaffected, and to fight for whats right and what I believe in. Thats why
Im writing and sharing my story in this letter.
If HB 1008 is enacted, how much will it cost the state of South Dakota? The loss in
federal funds, the cost of lengthy litigation, and the possibility that every public
building would have to build and construct additional restrooms to accommodate the
law, makes the cost prohibitive. If you add in the human cost, and the damage the bill
inflicts on LGBT people, the cost increases more.
Our Constitution has an equal protection clause. Does this bill extend equal protection
or does it diminish the few legal protections LGBT people have?
You know the answer just as I know the answer. Thats why Im confident that you will
veto this ridiculous legislation.

Thank you for your time Governor. Next time Im in Pierre, Id love to stop in and say
hello.
With best wishes, I remain
Sincerely,
Roy Steele
2261 Market Street #101
San Francisco, CA 94114
roy@jiveinthe415.com