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The Minnesota governor's LGBTQ+ support started long before his time in politics.
Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate, to the celebration of LGBTQ+ advocates.
Walz, a veteran and former teacher, supported his local queer community long before he entered politics, but just how pro-LGBTQ+ is his record? With the November presidential elections quickly approaching, here's an in-depth look at the Minnesotan's accomplishments.
When Walz, 35 at the time, was a social studies teacher at Mankato West High School in 1999, he advised the school’s first gay-straight alliance (GSA) club, helping LGBTQ+ who reported being bullied.
"It really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married," Walz previously said.
Walz was an early supporter of marriage equality, including it in his platform for his 2006 Congressional campaign. Despite running in a conservative district, Walz won. He held the seat through five more elections, even being narrowly re-elected as President Donald Trump won his district by more than 15 points in 2016.
During his years in the House of Representatives, Walz pushed for the repeal of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" military policy that forbid service members from being openly LGBTQ+. Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard and received honors like the Army Commendation Medal for heroism or meritorious service, gave an impassioned speech on the House floor in 2009 against the rule.
“Not once did I see that this nation was safer because a soldier was removed because of sexual orientation,” he said.
Also in 2009, Walz helped spearhead the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded Federal hate crimes laws to include protections for violent acts based on actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The law was signed by President Barrack Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010.
Though it wouldn't be signed until 2022 by President Joe Biden, Walz was one of the first supporters of the Respect For Marriage Act, which was first proposed in 2009. The landmark law protects the right for same-sex and interracial couples to marry.
After entering office as the governor of Minnesota in 2019, Walz signed in 2021 an executive order barring state agencies or private insurers from paying for so-called "conversion therapy" for minors or vulnerable adults — a debunked practice that attempts to forcefully change the gender identity or sexual orientation of the patient.
"Our kids deserve to grow up in a state that values them for who they are -- not one that tries to change them," Walz said in a statement. "This executive order aims to protect young and vulnerable Minnesotans from the cruel and discredited practice of conversion therapy and affirms that the LGBTQ+ community is an integral part of One Minnesota. This is not the end of our work to see this practice become a thing of the past. We will continue to fight for love over hate every single day."
Walz signed in 2023 another executive order that directed state agencies to take action to protect and support access to gender-affirming health care. He said in a press conference at the time, "We want every Minnesotan to grow up feeling safe, valued, protected, celebrated and free to exist as their authentic versions of themselves."
Just one month later, the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed three bills enshrining the right to abortion and gender-affirming care into state law, while also banning conversion therapy. The legislation also included a shield law, which prevents other states from prosecuting or subpoenaing information from patients receiving the care in the state. Walz signed all into law.
Walz signed in May a law that prevents public and school libraries from removing books “based solely on the viewpoint, content, message, idea, or opinion conveyed.” Instead, it ensured content curation will be managed by “a licensed library media specialist, an individual with a master’s degree in library sciences or library and information sciences, or a professional librarian or person with extensive library collection management experience."
"Censorship has no place in our libraries. As a former teacher, I’m clear: We need to remember our history, not erase it," Walz said on Twitter/X. "Today, I signed a bill into law putting an end to book bans based on ideology in Minnesota."
