Equal Junction

For individuals seeking equality in the great state of South Dakota, look no further than Equality South Dakota.

There mission statement: “The mission of Equality South Dakota is to secure and protect the rights and well being of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) South Dakotans and their families through full engagement in the political process. We seek dialogue with elected officials and invite them to use us as a resource in their decision making.  In doing so, we give a voice to families that have been silent and fearful.”

Check out their site at www.eqsd.org. They are always looking for people of the Mount Rushmore state and beyond to get involved and take action to further justice for the LGBT community.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Earlier this week, at their weekly Legislative Coffee, Representative Manny Steele (R-SD) compared homosexuals to pedophiles. Steele said this to support his vote for NO on HB 1144-the South Dakota Bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. After learning more about Representative Steele, and his family…and his 6 sons, we knew the math was on OUR side, he doth protest too much.

On Thursday, we spoke with Rep. Steele regarding his stance for No on HB 1144, we discussed his comment and wanted to give him a chance to apologize and recant this ignorant statement. During our time with the representative, he was given multiple opportunities to recant and apologize for these remarks. No apology was offered. Steele only continued to tow the line of hate and ignorance by saying that being Gay is “a choice.”

“There are people that are beastialogists. There are people who have sex with animals, so do we say that’s ok? Is that ok for society?”  -Rep. Steele

Let the hypocrisy begin. It wasn’t until cornered with his circular and arcane logic broken, that he gave up and admitted that he actually has a homosexual son. He reluctantly admitted, “my 3rd son…is Gay,” and later inquired if we would reach out to him and attempt to try and defend his record. This was his last possible refuge from sounding like a monster.  Fortunately for us, and our community, his own son, Randy Steele admits, “I wouldn’t vote for him.”

Learn more after the jump…

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Did you know that the Badlands National Park in South Dakota contains the world’s richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old?

Also, did you know that HB 1144, the Anti-Discrimination bill failed in committee today? A sad day for both South Dakota and Virginia.

HB 1144 is the bill to amend current South Dakota law to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The passing of this bill would have been so important because it would have protected LGBT workers in South Dakota. Unfortunately, South Dakota’s House Health & Human Services Committee tabled HB 1144. The vote was 8-4.

To find out how you can support equality in South Dakota CLICK HERE

Thank you Sharon for the update.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

So your in South Dakota, or planning to visit South Dakota, well then you’ll need a place to grab a beer and meet some of the local flair, go authentic, go to Toppers.

This is not some LA club transplant, or NY rave on a Target budget, it’s a REAL community bar, so behave. The owner Jim Hart, former Navy man, relates it “to a small simple joint but we try to have some fun in here.”

After our travels, we’ve got some friends in South Dakota and they recommend this place for a beer with a few chaps, but don’t ruin the vibe with cruising.  If anything, our South Dakota friends and Mr. Hart share their sentiment that in South Dakota “I’d like things to be easier for us.  There are still some hard days ahead.”

Their one year anniversary of business is coming up in March, we should all send them much anniversary love.  In SD? Go meet nice folks and have a fun night.  Check out their site and tell them we say HEY! Save a stool for us Jim, next time we’re in Sioux Falls, South Dakota we’ll stop in to Toppers.

Photo via: Flickr