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South Dakota’s Repression of Women Hurts Economic Development, Says Rep. Gibson

Want more economic development, South Dakota? Stop scaring women away with your continual attack on reproductive rights, says Rep. Peggy Gibson:

The biggest disappointment to me is how women are treated in the state of South Dakot—very repressive. We have to keep going over and over the abortion issue, even though it was voted in 2006 and 2008 to leave the issue alone, let women, her family, her pastor decide on women’s reproductive rights. But we’re continually attacked.

The State of South Dakota wants to have economic development. However, for my own children’s coming back home to South Dakota… my daughters-in-law are going, “Oh my God! Look at how women are treated in the state!” Look at the signs that are up. Look at the signals women don’t have reproductive rights in the state of South Dakota. Do they want to take our drivers licenses away from us next? It’s horrible [Rep. Peggy Gibson, interview, Dakota Free Press, 2015.03.13].

Governor Daugaard, Rep. Mickelson, please understand that all the smell of cow manure—er, money—won’t keep women from noticing that moving to South Dakota will cost them and their daughters important rights. And as the fridge magnet says, if Mama ain’t movin’, ain’t nobody movin’.

11 Comments

  1. Paul Seamans 2015-03-15 10:47

    I don’t know all that much about Rep. Peggy Gibson but I think that maybe I might like her.

  2. larry kurtz 2015-03-15 11:26

    twenty fifteen, cory; not two thousand fifteen.

  3. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-15 11:28

    Paul, you would. You should.

  4. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-15 11:29

    Larry, not in France it ain’t. Or Russia.

  5. leslie 2015-03-15 14:28

    if you don’t look like noem and our new SOS, your future in higher politics is more limited, from SDGOP’s racist, mysogynistic perspective in general, imo. look at how tyler, wismer and blake were severely, personally criticized in the election.

    three strong, strong dem candidates that we should fully back at every opportunity.

  6. Kathy Tyler 2015-03-15 14:47

    Thank you.

  7. grudznick 2015-03-15 20:01

    Mr. H, can you post a link to your testimonies on the budget passing or anything on that highway funding bill? It is neat that all these legislatures talked to you on camera and I like the backgrounds you picked out for them all, but did you have time to lobby and testify on anything?

  8. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-03-15 21:01

    Yes, thanks to the brave women and men in the SD legislature who fought for equal rights for girls and women.

    Rep. Gibson is exactly right about what the Republican War on Women, particularly as manifested in SD, does for SD’s economy. I have 6 nieces born in SD. None of them live there now. I have 7 female cousins born in SD. None of them live there now. BTW, all 13 of those women are very productive members of society, 10 are professionals in the states they enjoy.

    The Republican War on Women is one of the leading reasons those young women left.

  9. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-15 22:51

    Grudz, there is no public testimony on the last day of session. I did speak to legislators on the conference committee about SB 69. So I did a little lobby alongside of spending a full day as journalist.

    And how did you spend your Friday?

  10. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-15 22:53

    Deb, the ex-pat count among your female nieces and cousins is remarkable and depressing. Do they ever have any conversation along the lines of, “Well, I would go back, but…”?

  11. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-03-16 00:07

    Cory, the conversations are more like, “Did you hear what they (SD government) are doing now?!” Incredulously spoken. Most often goes more like this, “There is nothing for me there.”

    It’s as if the SD Republicans are actively working on ways to repel young, smart, creative professionals. And maybe they are. Maybe they want desperate and ignorant unskilled people who will work for little while those Republicans and their corporate owners rake in the money. Good god I hope I’m wrong.

    What is needed is exactly what the we discussed recently on another post. It was about a local candidate who described precisely what successful states do, and prescribed it for SD.

Comments are closed.