Argus Leader

A South Dakota lawmaker said a days-old North Carolina transgender bathroom law could be a model for the South Dakota legislature to consider next year.

"The North Carolina bill is worthwhile to look at," Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, said. "Our objective is to protect student privacy."

Deutsch made the comments hours after transgender residents and civil liberties groups sued over North Carolina's law in federal court Monday. Since North Carolina's governor signed the bill last week, the state has seen protests and threats of boycott.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill by Deustch this month that would have barred transgender students from using school bathrooms that don't match their biological sex at birth. The governor said the bill would bring legal conflicts and was better handled at the local level.

Deutsch said a broad measure like the one approved by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory likely wouldn't hold up in the South Dakota Legislature, but he'd consider it and other transgender bathroom bills across the country as he drafts legislation for 2017.

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Opponents of the transgender bathroom bills called the measures discriminatory and said they were skeptical of Deutsch's offer to work with the transgender community in writing a new bill.

The North Carolina law differs from Deutsch's House Bill 1008, a measure Deutsch brought during legislative session, in that it bars transgender people broadly from using public bathrooms that don't match their biological sex at birth and restricts cities from enacting ordinances that protect gay or transgender people.

The North Carolina legislation came in response to a Charlotte non-discrimination ordinance that allowed transgender people to use public restrooms of the gender with which they identify.

Absent a local ordinance allowing transgender people to use restrooms of the gender with which they identify, such a broad proposal likely wouldn't win over lawmakers in Pierre, Deutsch said.

"We don't have a Charlotte here," Deutsch said. "I would be surprised if it expanded beyond what we've done."

Companies with a strong presence in North Carolina including American Airlines, Wells Fargo, Apple and the NCAA have strongly opposed the measure. Google called the law "misguided and wrong" in a tweet.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) in a statement Thursday said it was"deeply concerned" about the law and wasn't immediately sure how it could impact the organization's ability to hold its 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.

Deutsch said in drafting a new bill, he hopes to sit down with transgender people to get their input. He said he has spoken to a few, but hasn't yet delved into the specifics of a new bill. He said he hopes a new bill would satisfy opponents of HB 1008 and wouldn't discriminate against any group of students.

But Kendra Heathscott, secretary for the transgender advocacy group TransAction South Dakota, said legislation other than a gender-neutral restroom proposal would come across as discriminatory.

"Anything other than that is just lip service," Heathscott said. "Unless his bill includes blanket protections for transgender people, it's a discriminatory bill."

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson

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