海角大神

The passage in South Dakota of a pair of bills that some say target transgender people for discrimination 鈥� including a so-called 鈥渂athroom bill鈥� 鈥� once more highlights the need for open dialogue around transgender rights, some observers say.

The bills, which are both waiting on Gov. Dennis Daugaard鈥檚 (R) signature to become law, have underscored the divide between religious conservatives and gender rights advocates in Republican-heavy South Dakota 鈥� a conflict that continues to play out both in other states and on a national level. Governor Daugaard has said he will research the issue before deciding whether to sign, according to local media reports.

But even as the controversy over the bills highlights divisions, it also points to the possibility of eventual compromise, some say.

鈥淚 think in this case we're seeing a proxy-battle in the larger ongoing culture war between traditionalists and progressives,鈥� writes Erik Fogg, founder of Something to Consider, a Massachusetts-based organization that seeks to promote productive dialogue on divisive issues, in an e-mail. That culture war, he notes, appears to pit two extreme sides with nothing in common against each other: progressives motivated by a desire to right what they perceive as gross social injustices on the one hand; and on the other, traditionalists who are seeing the world they knew being eroded, sometimes in aggressive ways.

鈥淏ut,鈥� Mr. Fogg adds in a follow-up interview, 鈥減eople who want to compromise, those people exist. We start by working on it on case-by-case bases and see where we can go from there.鈥�

That, Fogg acknowledges, will be easier said than done. In South Dakota, the first of the two bills 鈥� which the Legislature passed Tuesday 鈥� would essentially prohibit transgender students from using public school bathrooms or locker rooms for their identified gender. Instead, public schools would need to provide a 鈥渞easonable accommodation鈥� for transgender students, which may take the form of unisex or single-occupancy restrooms, or the 鈥渃ontrolled use鈥� of a restroom designated for faculty.

Supporters of the bill have hailed it as a way of upholding the state鈥檚 moral values, and a necessary step toward protecting students鈥� privacy.

鈥淲e certainly support this legislation,鈥� says Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, a national conservative 海角大神 group based in Washington. 鈥淭his is a way of protecting the privacy of rights of the majority while also providing a reasonable accommodation for the minority of people who identify as transgender.鈥�

He says the law does not force transgender people to use a group restroom that鈥檚 contrary to how they identify.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not saying they can鈥檛 identify as transgender,鈥� Mr. Sprigg adds. 鈥淏ut the interests of the majority have to be considered.鈥�

Advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, however, argue that the bill unfairly puts a spotlight on transgender students, who are likely going through personal struggles as they come to terms with their identities.

鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about the age when kids are just understanding [their gender identity],鈥� says Bill Mawhiney, treasurer for the Center for Equality, an LGBT-rights advocacy group in Sioux Falls, S.D. 鈥淲hen you see these teenagers go through that struggle, the last thing they need to be told is, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to label you, we鈥檙e going to identify you.鈥� You鈥檙e forcing them to stand out.鈥�

The language of , passed on Wednesday, is not explicitly antitransgender: It requires any public body of the state 鈥� from cities and towns to boards and commissions 鈥� to recognize as valid all information on a person鈥檚 birth certificate. But LGBT advocates, such as the Human Rights Campaign, say that the law would force people to be identified based on whatever happens to be on their birth certificate, without regard for how they identify themselves.

鈥淚 think what we鈥檙e seeing here are state legislators who are reacting to a changing world and trying to hold onto a path that is no longer the case,鈥� says Cathryn Oakley, who serves as the organization鈥檚 senior legislative counsel for state and municipal advocacy.

Some legislators have dismissed such concerns. 鈥淚'm sorry if you're so twisted you don't know who you are,鈥� said Sen. David Omdahl (R) . 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even understand where our society is these days.鈥�

Such back-and-forth is typical at this stage of a contentious conversation, when both sides are fighting to assert their righteousness, Fogg says. But it doesn鈥檛 mean compromise is impossible 鈥� only that the situation may get worse before it gets better, he notes.

鈥淭his law and other activity like this is going to bring transgender stuff into the limelight in a way that it hasn't been for most people other than the die-hard progressives and, to a lesser extent, the die-hard traditionalists. That limelight is going to be temporarily really divisive,鈥� he writes.

But the debate over marriage equality took a similar trajectory, Fogg points out: It took the LGBT community decades of opening themselves up to people with different opinions and perspectives before tolerance, and eventually acceptance, began to take place in a meaningful way.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a long game,鈥� he says. But, he adds, 鈥淭hey can 鈥榟umanize鈥� each other and both sides can figure out that OK, trans people are real and not weirdos like Bill from 'Silence of the Lambs,' and the progressives can figure out that a lot of the opponents here are parents that are just genuinely concerned about raising their kids, rather than hick bigots running around draping people with the Confederate flag.

鈥淭hat cross-humanization will help people start trying to maximize the good for everyone rather than assuming the other side is out to do harm,鈥� Fogg says.

Both Fogg and Mr. Mawhiney at the Center for Equality agree that LGBT advocates may need to take the lead in encouraging dialogue.

鈥淲hen we鈥檝e gotten people at the table to sit down with us, there鈥檚 always common ground,鈥� he says.鈥漈he resistance is [around] coming to the table. [So] we have to be better. We have to share our story better, be better at presenting information.鈥�