Shikongo

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard has vetoed a bill that would have banned transgender students from using the bathrooms that match their gender identity.

It would have been the first bill of its kind to actually pass, but after major outcry, Gov. Daugaard vetoed it hours before the deadline.

From the Washington Post:

“In a message to state lawmakers announcing his veto, Daugaard said that the bill would replace local control with a statewide mandate and ‘does not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of South Dakota.’

‘Instead of encouraging local solutions, this bill broadly regulates in a manner that invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state,’ Daugaard wrote.

If it had become law, the South Dakota law would have been in direct conflict with federal civil rights policy, and schools could have faced the possibility of losing millions of dollars in federal funding.”