SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Today, the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee heard legislation chief authored by Representative Leigh Finke (DFL-Saint Paul). The bill, known as the Take Pride Act, creates a new definition in the Minnesota Human Rights Act for the term “gender identity” providing that the term means a person’s sense of being a man, a woman, both, or neither, and clarifies that a person’s gender identity might not align with the primary or secondary sex characteristics commonly associated with being defined as a man or a woman.
“We need to ensure that our laws are up to date and clear for our protective measures for our trans and queer community,” said Rep. Finke. “Given the current climate with anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ2S+ legislation being introduced and passed nationally by extremist Republicans. The Minnesota legislature must update our human rights laws to increase inclusivity to protect the most targeted and marginalized group in our society.”
The legislation removes language from the existing definition of “sexual orientation” that included having or being perceived as having an identity not traditionally associated with one’s biological male or female traits.
This bill also removes an exception that allows homeowners to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation when renting a building that has only one or two units and repeals an existing law that allows discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation related to hiring employees for organizations providing services to youth.
You can watch the presentation and testimony of the bill here.