Equality Federation congratulates South Carolina Equality and all of the hardworking South Carolinians who helped ensure the defeat of S.1203, an anti-transgender bill that would have enshrined discrimination into state law by forcing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex, not their gender identity that they live every day, in all publicly-owned facilities including schools. It would have also taken away the ability for cities and counties to pass non-discrimination protections that would allow transgender people to access other bathrooms in accordance with their gender identity.

SC Equality Executive Director Jeff Ayers said:

“South Carolina told the nation it will not make the mistakes of its northern neighbor. We applaud the Senate, our friends and ally organizations, and we join our state in proudly saying South Carolina does not stand for discrimination or wasting taxpayer dollars on unnecessary legislation, and that we open for Business. SC Equality would particularly like to thank the elected officials and attached list of organizations who continue to oppose this effort.”

List of organizations who stood with SC Equality and opposed this effort.

South Carolina Equality
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance
South Carolina Economic Development Association
South Carolina Hospital Association
Upstate SC Alliance (Private/Public partnership, over 1400 Manufacturing Companies)
Midlands Industrial Leadership Forum
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
Clemson Area Chamber of Commerce
Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Greenville Chamber of Commerce
Greenwood Area Chamber of Commerce
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ)
American Board of Pediatrics
South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative
South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA)
Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
Reconciling Ministries of South Carolina
Target, Inc. (Target store chain)
League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC)
South Carolina Coalition for Healthy Families
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
Tell Them SC
Alliance for Equality, at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
Gay Straight Alliance, at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
LGBTQ Task Force, at Clemson University
Safe Zone, at College of Charleston
Alliance for Equality, at Charleston School of Law
Trans Student Alliance, at University of South Carolina
Individuals Respecting Identities and Sexualities (IRIS), at University of South Carolina
The Feminist Collective, at University of South Carolina
Students Invested in Change, at University of South Carolina
Women In Columbia, at University of South Carolina
National Center for Transgender Equality
South Carolina Black Pride
Uphold Financial
LPL Financial
Harriet Hancock Center
ACLU national / ACLU South Carolina
Trans United of SC
Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
AFL-CIO, South Carolina
Progress South
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Auntie Bellum magazine
Human Rights Campaign
National Association of Social Workers, South Carolina
South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Business Guild
Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA)
SC TransAction
Garden of Grace church
Aiken Unitarian Universalist Church
Unitarian Church in Charleston
Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia
Campaign For Southern Equality
Charleston Pride
Coastal Business Guild
Take Over Grand Strand
We Are Family
Upstate Pride
The American Association of University Women
Take Over Charleston
Girls Rock! Columbia
Youth OUTLOUD
TakeBreakMake
Southerners on New Ground (SONG)
Gender Benders
SIC

“This is a momentous occasion for South Carolina – equal means everyone,” said Ayers.