ADF attorney to testify on govt nondiscrimination, student athlete bills in SD
ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp available for media interviews following hearing
Attorney sound bite: Matt Sharp
PIERRE, S.D. – Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Matt Sharp will testify Wednesday before the South Dakota House State Affairs Committee on two proposed laws: HB 1107, which would “ensure government nondiscrimination in matters of religious beliefs and moral convictions,” and HB 1112, which would establish birth certificates as the primary standard “in identifying a student’s sexual identity for purpose of participation in high school activities.”“Laws that protect the free exercise of diverse views about marriage promote tolerance and contribute to a more respectful, diverse, and peaceful society. Only the explicit protections of HB 1107 can ensure courts and bureaucrats will not be able to discriminate against individuals, churches, and religious organizations on account of their beliefs and teachings regarding marriage,” Sharp explained.
“HB 1112 protects the safety and privacy of every South Dakota student, and ensures that female athletes are not denied the playing opportunities and scholarships otherwise available to them,” Sharp added. “By requiring students to play on sports teams that correspond to their biological sex, HB 1112 reduces the risk of potentially serious injuries to female athletes, protects their privacy, and ensures that they don’t lose playing opportunities and important scholarships to members of the opposite sex.”
HB 1107 specifies that “the state may not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially, on the basis that the person believes, speaks, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction” about marriage as the union of one man and one woman or about whether a person’s biological sex is changeable.
HB 1112 specifies that the “sole determinant of a student’s sexual identity is the sexual identity noted on the student’s certificate of birth. If no sexual identity is noted on the student’s certificate of birth, the sole determinant is the sexual identity noted on the South Dakota High School Activities Association physical exam form that is completed by a health care professional at the student’s physical examination.” If passed and signed into law, the bill would supersede any policy established by the South Dakota High School Activities Commission.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Public Policy. In this role, he leads ADF's team of policy experts as they craft legislation and advise government officials on policies that promote free speech, religious freedom, parental rights, and the sanctity of human life. Since joining ADF in 2010, Sharp has authored federal and state legislation, regularly provides testimony and legal analysis on how proposed legislation will impact constitutional freedoms, and advises governors, legislators, and state and national policy organizations on the importance of laws and policies that protect First Amendment rights. He has twice testified before the U.S. Congress on the importance of protecting free speech and religious liberty in federal law. Sharp also authored an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of nearly 9,000 students, parents, and community members asking the court to uphold students’ right to privacy against government intrusion. Sharp earned his J.D. in 2006 from the Vanderbilt University School of Law. A member of the bar in Georgia and Tennessee, he is also admitted to practice in several federal courts.