Karen Clark, Minnesota's first openly lesbian lawmaker, dead at 80

Former Rep. Karen Clark, Minnesota's first openly lesbian legislator and the longest-serving lesbian state lawmaker in the U.S., died at age 80 on Tuesday following a brief illness.

Clark, a DFLer, served the Minnesota House from 1981 until her retirement in 2019, representing part of south Minneapolis.

Clark led the push to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota and was instrumental in amending the Minnesota Human Rights Act to ban discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in employment, education, housing and more.

She was a longtime supporter of environmental, health and affordable housing initiatives. More recently, Clark had been a strong advocate for the Roof Depot project in the East Phillips neighborhood.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called Clark "a true legend in the House of Representatives" in a post about her passing.

Clark was married to her partner, Jacquelyn Zita, for 11 years. The two had been together for 35 years.

Details on Clark's memorial services will be announced later.