South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem is under fire after being asked about LGBTQ+ issues during a recent press conference following her signing into law a ban on trans athletes playing sports on teams that align with their gender identity.
Asked about the shocking rates of mental illness within South Dakota's LGBTQ+ population, Noem pretended not to understand the origins for the problem or to see any connection between it and the abusive new law she had just signed.
The lack of empathy Noem showed in the moment has left many in the state outraged. See the exchange below.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), who just signed the first anti-trans bill of 2022 into law, is asked why she thinks 90% of LGBTQ+ youth in South Dakota are diagnosed with anxiety or depression:\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.\u201dpic.twitter.com/WbKr2Tlujs— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1645128208
During the conference, a reporter asked Noem about the staggering rates of depression and anxiety among LGBTQ+ South Dakotans.
"There’s a statistic circulating around right now that says 90% of South Dakota’s LGBTQ community is diagnosed with either anxiety or depression."
Asked what she thinks might be the cause of that statistic, Noem, flatly and totally devoid of emotion, simply responded:
"I don’t know. That makes me sad and we should figure it out."
The figure in discussion came from a report from healthcare information site HelpAdvisor, which recently found that 63% of LGBTQ Americans report feeling “down, depressed or hopeless” at least once a week. But in South Dakota, that rate soars to 87%, the highest in the country.
Noem's unfeeling response is at once shocking and unsurprising--like so many Republicans across the nation, far-right Evangelical Christian Noem is so dedicated to her LGBTQ+ bigotry that she has set her targets on transgender school children.
SB 46, South Dakota's new so-called Fairness In Women's Sport Bill, comes on the heels of another bill banning transgender children from using school bathrooms that accord with their gender identity that was passed simultaneously.
LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign excoriated Noem as having "no shame" and accused her of victimizing South Dakota's children in order to raise her national political profile.
"The governor’s eagerness to pass a bill attacking transgender kids reveals that her national political aspirations override any sense of responsibility she has to fulfill her oath to protect South Dakotans.”
Noem is widely suspected of having presidential aspirations in 2024.
On Twitter, people were reviled by Noem's icy response to an obvious question.
I don't know about SD, but in TX my anxiety is from the fear of being assaulted or murdered for being different or expressing myself, while the state government constantly attacks my right to exist or be treated equally.— Snarky.Live (@Snarky.Live) 1645134929
could it be the overwhelming hostility\nstigmatization & dehumanization\nby government, religion, & society at large\nthat is directed at human beings\nidentifying as LGBTQ+\nthat leads to anxiety & depression?— one white rose (@one white rose) 1645160581
Wish more ppl were aware of the data that shows what most of us know in our hearts to be true:\n\nWhen trans kids are affirmed, they thrive\n\nChildren deserve to be protected & loved for who they are\u2014not used as political cudgels by craven politicians &bullies in lawmakers' clothing— NotATweeter16 (@NotATweeter16) 1645131189
pic.twitter.com/NSQlyPyV3e— Slygrammy5 \ud83c\udf32\ud83d\ude37 \ud83d\udc15 \ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf7f (@Slygrammy5 \ud83c\udf32\ud83d\ude37 \ud83d\udc15 \ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf7f) 1645130277
Right after the interpreter signs Noem's response her look says it all. pic.twitter.com/qkfO82kb4G— 1/6 was an inside job (@1/6 was an inside job) 1645139640
She really doesn\u2019t see the connection between legislating the erasure of a group of people and them feeling worthless and sad? #Einstein— Rosiebita (@Rosiebita) 1645130954
Police ask man standing in street holding knife, covered in blood: "why do you think all those people in there are dead?"\n\nMan responds, "I don't know, that's a shame, I sure hope you catch the guy!"— Make Reason Great Again (@Make Reason Great Again) 1645141384
pic.twitter.com/V99tzJDGVY— Fergi \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Fergi \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1645136603
The lack of humanity is also astounding.— Otter Fishal Intelligence (@Otter Fishal Intelligence) 1645131667
Someone please hand the Governor a mirror \nThe fact is she isn\u2019t sad and could care less about the suffering of others— Stephen not Steven (@Stephen not Steven) 1645139524
Noem has made a name for herself among Republicans by attacking LGBTQ+ rights, having previously passed a law that allows businesses to deny service to LGBTQ+ people.
