Media Contact

Janna Farley, jfarley@aclu.org

March 2, 2023

Due to weather concerns potentially impacting travel to Bismarck, the LGBTQ+ Lobby Day will not take place on Monday, March 6, and will be postponed to a later date. Stay tuned for details.

North Dakota’s workforce shortage. Affordable childcare. Education funding. Rural health care. 

That’s what legislators should be focusing on in Bismarck.

Yet issues that matter most to North Dakotans don’t seem to be a priority. Some legislators instead are focused on a slate of hate and would rather attack the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit community and erode their rights with bills that stoke fear and hatred amid discriminatory rhetoric. This year, state legislatures across the country have advanced a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit rights. The ACLU is tracking 17 anti-LGBTQ bills in North Dakota this year.

That’s why the ACLU of North Dakota, along with Prairie Action North Dakota and North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, are hosting an LGBTQ+ Lobby Day in Bismarck on March 6. Lobby Day participants will be attending committee hearings and floor sessions and meeting with legislators to provide LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit visibility.

“Our legislators need to understand how harmful these bills are to LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit North Dakotans,” said Cody Schuler, ACLU of North Dakota advocacy manager. “Too often, elected officials overlook LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people’s concerns. Lobby Day is a chance for the LGBTQ and allied community to show up and speak out about the issues affecting their families in every corner of our state.”

The LGBTQ+ Lobby Day begins at 8 a.m. Monday in the Heritage Center at the Russel Reid Auditorium. A full schedule is available upon request.

About the ACLU of North Dakota

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of North Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes South Dakota and Wyoming. The team in North Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people.  In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of North Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of North Dakota.

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