# Minnesota Human Rights Act — Gender Identity Amendment (1993) ## Antecedent Stub — Decade 16 Node **Citation:** MN Laws 1993, Chapter 22 **Statute amended:** Minn. Stat. §363 (later recodified as §363A) **Primary source:** https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/1993/0/Session+Law/Chapter/22/ **Signed by:** Governor Arne Carlson (R) --- ## What It Did MN Laws 1993, Chapter 22 added "sexual orientation" as a protected class under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The definition of "sexual orientation" explicitly included gender identity — specifically, "having or being perceived as having a self-image or identity not traditionally associated with one's biological maleness or femaleness." Governor Arne Carlson (R) signed it on **April 2, 1993**. Minnesota was the **8th state** to add sexual-orientation protection but the **first state in the nation** to include gender identity within that definition — that distinction, not the sexual-orientation listing itself, is what makes the 1993 act historically singular. This was the first state-level gender identity civil rights protection in United States history. --- ## Significance | Benchmark | Date | Gap | |-----------|------|-----| | MN Laws 1993 ch. 22 — first state gender identity protection | 1993 | Baseline | | *Bostock v. Clayton County*, 590 U.S. 644 — Title VII covers gender identity | 2020 | 27 years later | | US v. State of Minnesota, 0:26-cv-02078 — Title IX gender identity case filed | 2026 | 33 years later | Minnesota's 1993 law predates every federal protection for gender identity by more than a quarter century. It was signed by a Republican governor (Carlson) whose administration simultaneously signed three amendments to §43A.191 and issued EO 91-14 creating the State Affirmative Action Council. --- ## Architectural Position The 1993 gender identity law is the terminus of the progressive Republican arc that runs through: LeVander's §473.123 (Met Council, 1967) → Quie's §43A.191 signature (1981) → Carlson's EO 91-14 (1991) → ch. 22 (1993). Republican governors build each load-bearing structural element. DFL governors inherit and operate the architecture without dismantling it. Neither party names what the other built. **[WTFism]:** The first state gender identity civil rights protection in American history is signed by a Republican governor. By 2020, when the Supreme Court finally addresses gender identity under Title VII (*Bostock*), the MN statutory framework is 27 years old. --- ## Connection to *US v. State of Minnesota*, 0:26-cv-02078 The 2026 Title IX complaint (0:26-cv-02078) challenges Minnesota's educational gender identity framework. The 1993 MHRA amendment — the foundation of that framework — is a predicate document in the chain of custody running from 1993 to the current federal challenge. --- ## Cross-References - `Architects/Carlson_Arne_Gov.md` (signatory) - `Architects/Tier3_Carlson_Arne.md` (full Carlson dossier) - `At Issue/Affirmative Action Regime /` (parallel ratchet) - US v. State of Minnesota, 0:26-cv-02078 (current federal litigation) --- *Stub created: Decade Task 16 (mn-decade-16-1990s), 2026-06-14. Expand with full legislative history, sponsor research, and floor vote record.* #Acts_Amendments_and_Antecedents