South Dakota Sen. Troy Heinert (D), right, with a Korean War veteran from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Photo from Facebook

Indian lawmakers in South Dakota voted against a controversial bill that would bar transgendered public school students from using the bathroom or locker room of their choice.

Sen. Troy Heinert (D), a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, was one of the no votes against House Bill 1008. He used to teach elementary school on the reservation and a transgender student did not pose any problems in the community.

“Parents said, ‘He dresses as a girl, he lives as a girl, he plays with girls,’ ” Heinert told The New York Times. “We made some accommodations at our school. Nobody cared. Everybody knew. We didn’t make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Sen. Jim Bradford (D), a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, also voted against the bill. It passed the state Senate by just five votes.

The margin was much larger over on the House side, where the bill passed by a tally of 58 to 10. Rep. Shawn Bordeaux (D), a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and Rep. Kevin Killer (D), a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, voted against it.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) has until March 1 to veto the bill. If he doesn't take action, it becomes law.

The bill has drawn nationwide attention.

Get the Story:
South Dakota Bill on Transgender Students’ Bathroom Access Draws Ire (The New York Times 2/26)
Gov: Transgender meeting 'helped me see things through their eyes' (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 2/24)

An Opinion:
Kendra Heathscott: Gov. Daugaard, you met a transgender person: me (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 2/13)