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’We’re not going back to the discrimination,” Kamala Harris’s running mate said in a keynote address over the weekend.
Vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz delivered a keynote speech at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner on Saturday, rallying the crowd with a passionate plea to defend LGBTQ+ rights and mobilize ahead of the 2024 election.
Speaking to a packed audience at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate framed the upcoming election as a critical juncture for the future of LGBTQ+ freedoms, highlighting both progress and the threats posed by extremist policies.
HRC President Kelley Robinson introduced Walz, praising his long-standing commitment to equality. She recalled his time as a high school teacher in the 1990s when he became the faculty sponsor for his school’s first gay-straight alliance. “There is no place, no time in which compassion is impossible,” Robinson said, describing Walz’s advocacy even in rural America.
“For decades now, Coach Walls has stood with our community without an ounce of selfishness, proving that real leaders have the courage of their convictions, not just convictions,” she said.
Walz’s remarks, which lasted more than 30 minutes, emphasized the need to fight against the Republican plans aimed at stripping away LGBTQ+ rights.
“Who is asking for this agenda that they’re doing?” Walz asked. “Who’s asking for them to take away our freedoms? Who’s asking them to take away reproductive freedoms?”
He cited Project 2025, the GOP’s policy blueprint, as a direct attack on equality. As Vice President Harris said, we’re not going back,” Walz began. “We’re not going back to the discrimination. We’re not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal. We’re not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are. And we’re not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don’t make decisions that can improve that.”
Related: What is Project 2025 and what does it mean for LGBTQ+ Americans?
Throughout his speech, Walz leaned on his experience as an educator, crediting his students for opening his eyes to the realities LGBTQ+ youth face. Walz reflected on his journey as an LGBTQ+ ally, acknowledging his own background as a “straight white guy” and the role that allyship has played in his life. He recalled being approached by one of his students, Jacob Reitan, in the late 1990s to serve as the faculty advisor for the school’s GSA.
“Jake asked if I’d be interested in being the advisor to the gay-straight alliance, [and] I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching football,” Walz explained. “Allyship is a great thing, but many of you in here knows is it’s easy to be an ally when it’s easy to be an ally. What really matters is knowing who’s going to be at your side and stand up when it’s hard.”
He also pointed to his time in Congress, where he worked with then-U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and highlighted the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a personal milestone for him. Walz recalled walking with Matthew Shepard’s mother, Judy, to the House floor for the final vote, describing her resilience after the brutal murder of her son. “I watched a mother and the unbelievable pain that I couldn’t even fathom to lose a child this way, walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone,” he said, acknowledging Judy and Dennis Shepard’s attendance at the dinner.
Walz made it clear that the stakes of the 2024 election go beyond politics, touching on the progress made under the Biden-Harris administration, including repealing former PresidentDonald Trump’s ban ontransgender military service and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. “There’s some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House, they will go back at every one of these things,” he said, adding, “moving forward, because [Kamala Harris] said it: we’re sure the hell not going back.”
Walz framed Trump and JD Vance as threats to fundamental freedoms. He particularly pointed to their stance on reproductive rights and personal autonomy. He shared a deeply personal story about the fertility treatments he and his wife underwent to have their daughter, Hope, underscoring the importance of protecting bodily autonomy. “I sure the hell don’t need JD Vance giving me advice on it,” Walz said. “It’s not helpful.”
Walz urged the audience to mobilize in the final stretch before Election Day. He emphasized that the fight for equality is far from over and that the progress made over the past decade could be swiftly undone if Republicans take control.
He also condemned the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country and vowed that, under a Harris-Walz administration, there would be no turning back on equality. “We’re going to make sure our children are seen, they bring their authentic selves, and then we’re going to make sure they’re safe when they get there,” he said. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have beenintroduced nationwide in 2024 alone.
As he concluded, Walz left the audience with a clear directive: “Politics is not an end; it’s a means to an end.”
He urged those who are members of the LGBTQ+ community or who are allies who care about LGBTQ+ people to spend the remaining 59 days until the election working to secure a Democratic win. We can do anything for 59 days, sleep when you’re dead. Worry about that later. But now is the time,” he said, adding, “When we fight, we win!”
Watch Tim Walz’s energetic remarks below.
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