Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Minnesota have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Minnesota became the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in 1993, protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in the fields of employment, housing, and public accommodations. In 2013, the state legalized same-sex marriage, after a bill allowing such marriages was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and subsequently signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. This followed a 2012 ballot measure in which voters rejected constitutionally banning same-sex marriage.

Minnesota is frequently referred to as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly states in the Midwestern United States. Though legislation outlawing same-sex sexual activity remained in statutes until 2023, it had been invalidated since 2001 when the state's Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. In July 2021, an executive order was signed and implemented banning conversion therapy state-wide. Some cities within Minnesota had previously banned conversion therapy by local ordinances. In Spring 2023, the state passed a law banning conversion therapy and a "trans refuge" law, protecting access to gender-affirming care.

History of the law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Pre-colonial America Before the arrival of the Europeans, there were no known legal or social punishments for engaging in homosexual activity. Several Native American tribes recognized individuals who would act, behave and live as the opposite biological sex, nowadays also called "two-spirit". The Dakota people refer to male-bodied individuals who act as female as winkta. They are ikwekaazo (literally "men who chose to function as women") among the Ojibwe. Likewise, female-bodied individuals who act and live as males are ininiikaazo (literally "women who choose to function as men").

Early Minnesota In 1849, the Minnesota Territory was given Wisconsin's laws, including a ban on heterosexual and homosexual sodomy, which was defined by the common law. When Minnesota drafted its own criminal code in 1851, it kept this prohibition. In 1909, the penalty for sodomy was increased to 20 years' imprisonment, and in 1921, the Minnesota Legislature expanded the definition of sodomy to include fellatio (oral sex). Beyond the criminal laws, vagrancy laws banned anyone from soliciting for "immoral purposes".

In 1939, a wave of child molestation cases in Saint Paul led to the enactment of a psychopathic offender law, which included LGBTQ people alongside rapists and child molesters. Though justified by the need to protect children and others from sexual abuse, those convicted of homosexuality constituted the major part of those imprisoned under it.

Mid 20th century In 1967, the penalty for sodomy was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of $1,000 dollars. An attempt to repeal the sodomy law failed in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1973 by a vote of 46–69 with 19 abstentions.

1980s In State v. Blom (1984), the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the criminal ban on sodomy also applied to the act of cunnilingus. In 1987 in State v. Gray, the court rejected the argument that privacy rights applied to sodomy involving prostitution. However, the court did recognize that the State Constitution protected privacy rights, although it stopped short of stating whether or not private, adult, consensual and non-commercial sodomy was covered under the right to privacy.

Doe v. Ventura (2001) In Doe et al. v. Ventura et al. (2001), State District Court Judge Delila F. Pierce ruled that the sodomy law violated the State Constitution when dealing with private, adult, consensual, and non-commercial sodomy. The ruling was later certified as being a class action lawsuit and the state did not appeal, thus voiding the law in terms of private, consensual, non-commercial acts of sodomy by consenting adults, two years before Lawrence v. Texas.

Sodomy law repeal In May 2023, an "Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety Bill" passed the Minnesota Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz to formally repeal the defunct and archaic sodomy law. The legislation took effect immediately.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage became legal in Minnesota on August 1, 2013. There are also domestic partnership ordinances in 18 cities:

Minneapolis since 1991No takers yet for Duluth domestic partner registry , Minnesota Public Radio. Duluth since 2009Duluth oks domestic partner registry , Minnesota Independent. St. Paul since 2009, OutFrontMN.org. Edina since 2010Edina passes domestic partner registry , TheColu.mn. Maplewood since 2010Maplewood passes domestic partner registry, Golden Valley to vote on Tuesday , TheColu.mn. Golden Valley since 2010Golden Valley passes domestic partner registry , TheColu.mn. Rochester since 2010Rochester approves domestic partner registry , Minnesota Independent. St. Louis Park since 2011St. Louis Park passes domestic partner registry, Richfield to pass same next week , TheColu.mn. Richfield since 2011Richfield City Council Passes Domestic Partner Registry , TheColu.mn. Red Wing since 2011 Robbinsdale since 2011 Hopkins since 2011 Falcon Heights since 2011 Shorewood since 2011 Shoreview since 2011 Crystal since 2011 Eagan since 2012 Eden Prairie since 2012

Baker v. Nelson

In 1972, activist Jack Baker filed a lawsuit against the Hennepin County District Court Clerk Gerald R. Nelson, after being denied a marriage license to his partner Michael McConnell. The case resulted in the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that Minnesota law limited marriage to opposite-sex couples and doing so did not violate the State Constitution or the United States Constitution. Although Baker subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, his appeal was dismissed with a one-sentence ruling.

Minnesota Amendment 1

On November 6, 2012, Minnesota voters by a margin of 51.5% to 47.5% with 1% abstention defeated a proposed amendment to the State Constitution that would have banned same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

Legalization On February 28, 2013, a bill was introduced in the Minnesota Legislature to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. On May 9, 2013, it passed the House of Representatives by 75–59 votes, and on May 13 the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 37–30. Governor Mark Dayton signed the bill into law on May 14. The legislation took effect on August 1, 2013, which was the day the first same-sex couples began marrying in the state.

Hunting club court settlement In August 2014, Minnesota laws on both marriage and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation were upheld and declared valid by a settlement in court in the case of a same-sex couple and a hunting club that refused their wedding.

Discrimination protections In 1989, Governor Rudy Perpich created a state commission to study the prospect of adding sexual orientation to the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The commission proposal was not passed by the Minnesota Legislature, but the subsequent governor, Arne Carlson, formed a similar committee in 1990.

In 1992, Governor Carlson signed an executive order that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in state employment. In 1993, Minnesota amended its statutes to prohibit discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation and/or gender identity in housing, insurance, goods and services, contracts, health benefits, hospital visitation rights, and employment.Preston, Joshua. "Allan Spear and the Minnesota Human Rights Act." Minnesota History 65 (2016): 76-87.

The Minnesota Human Rights Act uses the following definition with regards to the phrase "sexual orientation"; "Sexual orientation" means having or being perceived as having an emotional, physical, or sexual attachment to another person without regard to the sex of that person or having or being perceived as having an orientation for such attachment, or having or being perceived as having a self-image or identity not traditionally associated with one's biological maleness or femaleness. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult. The 1993 law does not apply to religious organizations, youth groups and certain small businesses - reclassified and reimplemented by new 2024 legislation passed in May, that maintained this explicit exemption.

The 1993 addition of sexual orientation to the Minnesota Human Rights Act also included the insertion of provisions stating that the "state of Minnesota does not condone homosexuality or bisexuality or any equivalent lifestyle", or "authorize the promotion of homosexuality or bisexuality in education institutions". No bill has yet been introduced to repeal these provisions.

In May 2023, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill to add “sexual orientation and gender identity or expression” to the Minnesota Constitution. The bill is awaiting a vote within the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Reforms to discrimination laws In May 2023, an “omnibus community justice bill” passed the Minnesota Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor of Minnesota to (1) formally repeal the defunct and archaic 1993 “condemning homosexuality” law; (2) explicitly adding “gender identity” separately from sexual orientation and to also (3) repeal all exemptions for "nonpublic service organizations," such as the Boy Scouts, within anti-discrimination provisions. The legislation goes into effect immediately.

Hate crime law In 1989, Minnesota laws were expanded to cover hate crimes based on a person's sexual orientation. In 1993, sexual orientation was expanded to include the category of gender identity.Human Rights Campaign: Minnesota Hate Crimes Law , accessed May 12, 2011 The law provides additional penalties for certain crimes committed based on the victim(s)' sexual orientation or gender identity, alongside other categories such as race, religion or sex.

Adoption and parenting In August 2024, a same-sex couple within Minnesota won a court case regarding parentage. Sperm and egg donors under Minnesota legislation are explicitly “automatically denied parentage” - regardless of circumstance. Minnesota law allows single LGBTQ people to petition to adopt children, whilst there is no specific prohibition against joint adoption petitions or stepchild petitions by same-sex couples.Human Rights Campaign: Minnesota Adoption Law , accessed May 15, 2013 The state's only organization solely dedicated to finding families for Minnesota's children, the Minnesota Adoption Resource Network, allows same-sex partners to adopt in identical fashion to single people and opposite-sex partners.MN Adopt: How to Adopt , accessed May 15, 2013

Lesbian couples have access to in vitro fertilization. State law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as a legal parent to a child born via donor insemination, but only if the parents are married. Surrogacy is neither expressly prohibited nor permitted in Minnesota, but the courts have generally ruled in favor of couples, same-sex or opposite-sex, using the gestational or traditional surrogacy process. A proposed law, the Minnesota Gestational Carrier Act, aims to consolidate existing case law, streamline the surrogacy process, and protect all parties involved.

Guardianship On December 17, 1991, in a landmark ruling, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, overturning a lower court ruling in In re Guardianship of Kowalski, awarded guardianship of Sharon Kowalski, brain-damaged in an accident eight years earlier, to her lesbian partner Karen Thompson over the objections of Kowalski's parents.

Transgender rights