ALLAN H. SPEAR:

Allan H. Spear served on the Minnesota Senate from 1973-2000, representing District 57 (1973-1982), 59 (1983-1992), and 60 (1993-2000) of Hennepin County, and was of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party. He announced he was gay in 1974, becoming one of the first openly gay state legislators in the United States. He was President of the Senate from 1993-2000, and was the first legislator to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee who was not an attorney.

He also served for 18 years on the Crime Prevention Committee, and was a co-founder of the National Gay and Lesbian Elected and Appointed Officials and a board member of the OutFront Minnesota PAC. He was also a member of the State Board Council and the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board from 2001-2003.

He earned a B.A. from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1958, an M.A. from Yale University in 1960, and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1965.

He was instrumental in the passage in 1993 of the Minnesota State Human Rights Act, guaranteeing protection against discrimination for gays and lesbians.

Spear died on October 11, 2008.

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Includes appointment books, bill files, correspondence and audio cassettes pertaining to bills introduced by Spear when he was a member of the Senate (1973-2000) and heard by the Senate Judicial Committee when he was President from 1982-1992. Also included are video and audio cassettes related to the organizations "It's Time Minnesota" and "It's Time Again."

The records reflect Spear's work on issues and legislation pertaining to minority groups, gay rights, criminal justice, local issues, consumer protection, the omnibus Crime Bill, and the protection of vulnerable adults.

Of note are a number of files pertaining to the Omnibus Crime Bill from 1989-1992, campaign files from 1992-1996, and correspondence from 1973 to about 1998.

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These documents are organized alphabetically in the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Allan H. Spear Legislative Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,891.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Alex Kent, December 2008.

Catalog ID number: 990067758330104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Adoption -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

AIDS (Disease)

Child abuse -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

Child care -- Minnesota.

Criminal justice, Administration of -- Minnesota.

Criminal law -- Minnesota.

Criminal procedure -- Minnesota.

Gay rights -- Minnesota.

Minorities -- Legal status, laws, etc.

Organizations:

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Minnesota -- Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Minnesota -- Legislature -- House of Representatives -- Crime Prevention and Corrections Committee.

Minnesota. Legislature. Senate -- Judiciary Committee.

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