Leo J. Reding

Leo John Reding (June 6, 1924 – October 12, 2015) was an American politician.

Born in Austin, Minnesota, Reding received his bachelor's degree in physical education from the University of St. Thomas. He taught high school and was a meat cutter at the Hormel Plant. Reding served on the Austin city council and as mayor of Austin, Minnesota. From 1975 to 1995, Reding served in the Minnesota House of Representatives and was a Democrat.[1][2]

Minnesota’s GLBT Human Rights Act Amendment

In 1993, Minnesota passed the first GLBT civil rights laws to include full legal protection for transgender people, as well as gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons. Representative Reding co-authored this bill with Representative Karen Clark after attending a PFLAG meeting and hearing first hand stories of injustice and discrimination.

As documented in Lavender Magazine on the 15th anniversary of the bill's passage:

Clark relates that then-Representative Leo Reding, a moderate-to-conservative DFLer from Austin, asked her, “Hey, Karen, are you going to do that gay rights bill again this year?” She answered, “Yes, Leo, I am,” thinking, “Oh, God, here it comes.” Reding replied, “Good, because I want to be a coauthor with you.”

Reding explained to Clark that constituents and longtime friends had invited him to a meeting of the local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Hearing the experiences of people he knew helped change his mind.[3]

Notes
  1. Leo John Reding, 91
  2. Minnesota Legislators Past and Present-Leo J. Reding
  3. "Remembering Minnesota’s GLBT Human Rights Act Amendment 15 Years Later". Lavender Magazine, June 5, 2008.


gollark: I mean that they insist I need cotton shirts (because natural → good somehow?!) and also have to wear ironed clothes?
gollark: Well, they seem to think that I should wear excessively fancy clothes (beyond the somewhat-fancy-clothes requirement of my school dress code) or people will judge me for it somehow?
gollark: I care somewhat about appearance, but your comment reminds me very much of the whole thing my parents have with looking "smart".
gollark: Surely nobody is going around licking windows *now*.
gollark: · · ·
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