Events
Dakota Territory splits
into North and South
Dakota. South Dakota
keeps its sodomy laws.Dakota Territory enacts
laws against sodomy,
which apply to both
same-sex and opposite-sex
couples, carrying a minimum
of one year imprisonment and
a maximum of life.Dakota Territory lessens
its maximum punishment
for sodomy to 10 years.In the landmark ruling
State v. Whitmarsh, the
state’s definition of
sodomy is expanded to
include fellatio, which
becomes a precedent for
sodomy cases nationwide.
Sodomy is defined as “all
crimes against nature,”
which included homosexuality.The common-law definition
of sodomy is abolished.Ted Shawn and His Men
Dancers performed at
the South Dakota Education
Association annual meeting.
At this time, Shawn was dating
troupe member Barton Mumaw,
and would later come out as gay.Sodomy laws, including
homosexuality, are abolished
and decriminalized in South
Dakota, 24 years before federal
decriminalization. The age of
consent is set at 13.Sioux Empire Gay Coalition
is founded, becoming
the first official LGBTQ+
organization in the state.The state’s age of consent
is raised to 15.Dakota Territory is formed,
which encompasses
modern-day South Dakota.Randy Rohl, a student at
Sioux Falls’ Lincoln High
School, takes Grady Quinn
to his high school prom at
the downtown Holiday Inn's
Embassy Room. They become
the first gay couple in American
history to attend prom together.South Dakota Department
of Health begins tracking
HIV/AIDS cases.Black Hills Gay Coalition
is founded.The Sioux Empire Gay
Coalition disbands.Black Hills Gay and Lesbian
Resource Center is founded.The Black Hills Gay
Coalition disbands.Randy Rohl passes away
from AIDS in a Minneapolis
hospital. His death makes
national headlines.Van Driel v. Van Driel (1994) is
decided by the SD Supreme
Court, in which it is argued
that the defendant’s lesbianism
is grounds for reversal of
custody of their children to
her ex-husband. The court
found this to not be a valid
reason to reverse the decision.For the first time in state
history, LGBTQ+ activists
(from South Dakota Gay, Lesbian,
and Bisexual Federation) gather
in Pierre to testify against HB 1184
in front of the SD State Senate.FACES becomes officially
recognized by the state.The Black Hills Gay and
Lesbian Resource Center
disbands.Richard Collins v. Faith
School District 46 is
decided by the SD
Supreme Court on
February 25. Collins
had been fired after
discussing gay sex when
asked by students
during a sex ed class;
the Supreme Court
reversed a lower court’s
affirmation and demanded
that Collins be re-employed
and compensated.Sioux Empire Gay and
Lesbian Coalition is founded.Black Hills Gay and
Lesbian Youth Support
and Resource Center is
founded a second time.Amendment C is made
to the South Dakota
Constitution, which defines
marriage as a union between
one man and one woman
and refuses to recognize
any same-sex unions,
including civil unions and
domestic partnerships.
Then-Governor Bill Janklow
signs off on the amendment.
As of 2017, the amendment
has never been repealed.The Sioux Empire Gay and
Lesbian Coalition disbands.Equality SD is founded.Black Hills Center for
Equality is founded.The Black Hills Gay and
Lesbian Youth Support
and Resource Center
disbands for the second time.Angie Buhl-O'Donnell
becomes the
first openly-LGBTQ+
publicly-elected official
in state history.After Obergefell v. Hodges,
which made same-sex
marriage legal across the US
and overturned previous
state rulings, the first same-sex
marriage in South Dakota
takes place in Rapid City
between Melissa Eidson and
Misty Collins.6 South Dakota couples
sue the state over
Amendment C.Jesse Taylor of Dakota
Wesleyan University’s
men’s basketball team
becomes the first openly
gay South Dakotan
college athlete.South Dakota Congress
introduces House Bill
1008, meant to restrict
public facility access to
those rooms associated
with one’s assigned gender
at birth. This was the first
so-called “bathroom bill” in
American history and sparked
a trend of similar bills across
the US, one of which passed
in North Carolina.House Bill 1008 is
passed by Congress and
goes to the governor's desk.House Bill 1008 is vetoed
by Governor Dennis Daugaard.An override on House Bill
1008 fails in Congress,
officially killing the bill.Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow,
a transgender Two-Spirit
Lakota woman, is murdered
in her Cleveland Heights,
Sioux Falls apartment,
bringing South Dakota into
the national spotlight.
Wounded Arrow was the
second trans woman to be
murdered in 2017, and the
first known transgender
homicide in South Dakota.A second bathroom bill,
Senate Bill 115, is proposed
and draws national opposition.Senate Bill 115 is withdrawn,
within 6 days of its introduction,
due to national opposition.Transgender Two-Spirit
woman Isabella Red Cloud
is denied aid at the United
Gospel Mission in East Sioux Falls.30 people march peacefully
on the United Gospel Mission
in support of Isabella Red Cloud,
a transgender Two-Spirit Lakota
woman who was denied aid there.George McGovern runs
for President of the United
States and comes out
in favor of gay rights, one of
the first South Dakota politicians,
let alone presidential nominees,
to do so. He is defeated
by Richard Nixon.Wolff v. Wolff (1984) is decided,
which decided that the child
of a divorced couple was
better suited to remain with
the ex-husband, although
the court clearly disapproved
of his alleged homosexual
relationship with a juvenile.Chicoine v. Chicoine (1992)
is decided, in which the
state questions the lesbian
mother's fitness to raise
children because of her
lesbianism. The state says
she has "harmed these
children forever" and accuses
her of "teach[ing] them to
be homosexuals." The court
cites Leviticus 18:22 and takes
away the mother's visitation rights.FACES of South Dakota,
the first statewide LGBTQ+
organization, is founded in
response to a proposed law,
HB1184, to define same-sex
marriage as illegal. FACES
also begins publications.Senator Tim Johnson
(D-SD) comes out in
support of gay marriage.A case of defamation
is decided, involving Herman
Solem, then-warden of the
SD State Penitentiary;
inmate Dale Louis Clark
was stabbed and the
press erroneously
referred to the assault as
homosexual in nature, for
which Clark blamed Solem.
The case is thrown out
on technicality.State v. Lee (1999) is decided.
Lee claimed his prison
cellmate, Robert Walth, had
sexually assaulted him, leading
to Lee murdering Walth; Lee
claimed a "gay panic" defense,
and the court did consider his
extreme aversion to being
considered gay as a motive, as
well as previous sexual assault
allegations made on Walth. Due
to lack of evidence, the court
rejects this defense.Robert Walth, inmate at the
South Dakota State Penitentiary,
is murdered by his cellmate
David Lee, who makes use
of the "gay panic" defense in
State v. Lee (1999).Hopfinger v. Leapley (1994)
is decided. Henry Hopfinger
is convicted of assaulting and
robbing Gordon Roettele after
they engaged in consensual sex,
but after which Roettele attempted
to sexually assault Hopfinger.State v. Black (1993)
is decided, in which Black
attempted to use the "gay
panic defense," but due to
lack of evidence on the victim's
alleged homosexuality
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