Trans Minnesota Democrat calls for ‘cementing of rights’

Minnesota Democrat Leigh Finke – the state’s first transgender lawmaker – publicly called for a ‘cementing’ of rights for ‘trans, nonbinary, two-spirit and intersex individuals in our state constitution.’

Finke – who outraged many when she was named the state’s ‘Woman of the Year’ honoree by USA Today – made the speech as the ‘Minnesota Queer Legislators Caucus’ unveiled its 2024 agenda.

In a speech Wednesday, Finke pitched Minnesotans with an ‘equal rights amendment’ that would add on to liberal Governor Tim Walz’s executive order protecting access to ‘gender-affirming care’ for trans youth.

She demanded that trans people in Minnesota ‘are afforded a full and equal access to protections in perpetuity.’

Finke then also said that the state should enshrine rights for ‘nonbinary, two-spirit and intersex individuals.’

Non-binary people are considered ‘people whose gender is not male or female’ according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

‘Two-spirit’ is an identity used by indigenous people that ‘refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit,’ according to Re:searching for LGBTQ Health.

Intersex people are persons who have been born with a combination of male and female biological traits, per Planned Parenthood.

Finke argued that the amendment would be a ‘nation-leading initiative’ at a time when transgender issues are a flash point nationally.

‘Passage of a trans-inclusive ERA’ and the long-term protection of trans rights is crucial for the long-term health and safety of my community and all of our communities,’ she said.

The Minnesota Queer Legislators Caucus added that their goals for 2024 include ‘accountability, accessibility, and tangible improvements for a more inclusive and equitable Minnesota.’

In Minnesota alone, many of the issues involving LGBTQ+ people and children have caused controversy.

In November, a Minnesota mom and ex-teacher slammed her former school district and claimed they push gender ideology and critical race theory over children’s emotional well-being.

The former teacher said: ‘I have witnessed in recent years that social-emotional learning has become less about improving a student’s emotional intelligence, as it was intended, and more about pushing ideologies.

‘There are two ideologies that I will address tonight that have become embedded in social-emotional learning within the Anoka-Hennepin district. Issue number one: kids should not be sexualized.

‘We do not need books on exploring sexuality — gay, straight, or otherwise — in schools.

‘We do not need teachers asking students about their pronouns. And worse, we do not need teachers asking students if they have a preferred pronoun that they want kept secret from their parents. That is happening in this district.’

Bednar went on to call such behavior ‘grooming.’

Anoka-Hennepin is the largest of Minnesota’s school districts and serves 38,000 students in 25 elementary schools, six middle schools and five high schools.

In the 2023/24 policy handbook it says ‘Anoka-Hennepin Schools have a growing number of students who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming.’

It adds: ‘All students, including transgender and gender non-conforming students, shall be permitted to use any and all facilities consistent with their gender identity.’

If students request more private areas to change, the policy suggests they could use an ‘alternative changing area’ including a ‘PE instructor’s office in the locker room’.

It adds: ‘In some circumstances, transgender students do not want their parents to know about their transgender status or that they are expressing their affirmed gender at school.

‘Parents or guardians have a right of access to the data unless a court order provides otherwise or the student requests that the data be withheld and the school determines that that is in the best interest of the student.’

In December, a handful of Somali parents who hoped to provide better lives for their children in Minnesota battled it out with their public school district for teaching ‘sexualized topics’ without their consent.

First Liberty Institute is representing six Somali-Muslim families who are asking to be notified before their children are instructed on LGBTQ identities, because they say it violates their religious beliefs.

Their children are all aged seven to nine years old, and the majority are in the third and fourth grades.

Finke, a former academic, journalist and author, was voted into her heavily left-leaning district in the Twin Cities metro area in 2022 with 81 percent of the vote.

She was honored alongside several other people – including former First Lady Michelle Obama and the United States women’s soccer team. Transgender assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine was one last year.

Finke is the first transgender legislator to be elected in the state, which is part of why the paper chose to honor her. Finke transitioned in 2017.

She acknowledged how recently she had ascended in politics in a tweet commenting on the award over the weekend.

‘As an elected, I recognize that I just got here. The faith that has been put in my by my district, by the queer community, and by my colleagues at the capitol has been life-giving. I’ve only begun to fathom how much my life has changed, for the better, over the past year.’

In late 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, signed an executive order protecting the rights of LGBTQ people from Minnesota and other states to receive gender affirming health care.

Finke was at the signing of the order and was, unsurprisingly, in support of the move in a tweet.

‘This executive order is necessary because the national attack on trans people is escalating, everyday. Our rights are under attack, now. People are looking for safety, now. And Gov. Walz’s actions today will provide that safety,’ she wrote.

She has created controversy elsewhere, however, with the Daily Caller criticizing her for calling a sexual assault allegation against a member of the indigenous group Honor the Earth toward a minor ‘irrelevant’ when debating getting it funding.

USA Today described Finke ‘an activist for transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as Black Lives Matter, almost her whole life.’