Roughly a week after the owners of Outside of a Dog Books & Games, Vermillion, S.Dak., announced that the store would close or be sold due to a new anti-trans state law, a trans couple has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help them buy the bookstore, KELO reported.
Elias and Nova Donstad are looking to raise $25,000 and have so far raised just over $8,400. The money will go toward making a competitive offer for the store and will be combined with loans and the Donstads' own money.
Mike and Jennifer Phelan, owners of Outside of a Dog, have chosen to leave South Dakota for the sake of their children, one of whom is transgender. Nova Donstad told KELO that "we really respect what they're doing for their family because their job as parents of a trans child is to keep their child safe. They're doing that. We believe that our job as trans adults is to work to make South Dakota safe for the next generation of trans."
Elias Donstad, who is pursuing a doctorate in English, said, "I want to be able to keep the love of literature and the love of books alive in Vermillion, especially outside of the University."