Law Will Enshrine Minnesota as Safe Haven for Children, Families, and Healthcare Providers
ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, Governor Tim Walz signed the Trans Refuge bill (HF 146) into law. The law establishes Minnesota as a refuge for trans people, their families, and healthcare providers. Chief author Senator Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) attended the signing ceremony alongside Senator Scott Dibble and Senator Kelly Morrison, whose bills to ban conversion “therapy” (HF 16) and protect people who travel to Minnesota for reproductive healthcare or who provide that healthcare in Minnesota (HF 366) were also signed that day.
Senator Maye Quade released the following statement celebrating HF 146’s signature into law:
“In Minnesota, we want every trans and gender expansive kid to know you are loved, you are cherished, and you are welcome and safe here. Minnesotans decided a long time ago that discrimination is wrong, and today we take another step forward in leading in civil and human rights. Today, we continue our record of care, compassion, and being a beacon of personal freedom. I am grateful to Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan for their unwavering support of trans healthcare and trans lives, and to Representative Leigh Finke for her unparalleled championship of this legislation.
“As we celebrate progress in Minnesota, we stand against a backdrop of legislators across the country being silenced for standing with their constituents — queer, trans, nonbinary, and Black legislators. We stand with Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones in Tennessee, to Representative Mauree Turner in Oklahoma, and Representative Zooey Zephyr in Montana, and we will continue the fight in Minnesota just as they continue the fight across the country.”
With the passage of HF 146 through the Senate on April 21, Minnesota may soon be the lone state in the upper Midwest where gender-affirming care is available. As of April 2023, state legislatures have introduced 472 bills in 32 states that target trans people. 15 states have banned gender affirming care for transgender youth or adults. This law will protect access to gender affirming care for almost 20% of the transgender population (ages 13-17) in the entire country.
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Learn more about Sen. Maye Quade.
