Opinion
Tim Giago: South Dakota tilting further to the right


"When a community such as Sturgis, SD can approve a liquor license for a soon-to-be raucous beer joint within shouting distance of one of the most sacred holy places of the Lakota and other Plains Indian Tribes in order to draw larger crowds and make more money from the hideous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held annually in the Sacred Black Hills of the Lakota, where do we draw the line? Would the city council of Sturgis approve a liquor license for an establishment to be built next to one of their churches or schools? Never! And yet they see no problem in building one next to the outdoor church of the Indian people.

The decidedly right wing body of the South Dakota State Legislature, along with their right leaning Governor Mike Rounds, took it upon themselves to cross that line this year and introduce legislation in the guise of HB1215 that would make it a criminal act for a doctor to perform an abortion, even if that abortion was to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest. Crowed a state legislator, �It doesn�t matter how the pregnancy happened because all babies are sacred.� Tell that to a woman or a girl that has been raped or has been the victim of incest. Another legislator attempted to describe the differences between a simple rape as opposed to a rape in general. Is there such a thing as a �simple rape?�

The right wing politicians and believers preach that there is only one way and that is their way. The rights of women have been severely diminished in South Dakota and I cannot help but applaud those fearless people who took a petition across this state to get the abortion issue on the ballot for the November elections."

Get the Story:
Tim Giago: The bus keeps turning to the right (The Native American Times 6/30)

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