Minnesota Governor Tim Walz lauded Vice President Kamala Harris’s dedication to LGBTQ+ rights during his speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s national dinner on Saturday night. As the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Walz reassured the energized crowd that Harris would champion LGBTQ+ causes if elected president.
Welcomed to John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” and a standing ovation from 3,500 attendees, Walz highlighted Harris’s work with President Joe Biden to enact executive orders protecting LGBTQ+ rights in healthcare, military service, and education. He emphasized Harris’s deep-rooted commitment to equal justice, stating, “It’s not that difficult.”
Amid escalating restrictions on transgender rights in conservative states, the Human Rights Campaign declared an emergency for LGBTQ+ individuals last year, citing increasing legislation curtailing their freedoms. Walz warned that if Republican Donald Trump were re-elected, similar federal restrictions would be imposed.
Following President Biden’s endorsement of Harris after withdrawing from the 2024 race, the HRC voiced support for her candidacy, commending her decision to select Walz, an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, as her running mate.
Walz recounted his experience as a teacher in the 1990s, sharing how a student approached him to advise the Gay-Straight Alliance. He also highlighted Harris’s key role in ensuring same-sex marriages were legalized as California’s attorney general, instructing a clerk to “start the marriages immediately.”
Urging the audience to mobilize for Harris, Walz warned of the dangers of a second Trump presidency, which he claimed would “restrict freedom, bully this community, [and] demonize vulnerable children.” Trump’s recent campaign rhetoric has increasingly targeted transgender individuals, contrasting with his more moderate stance in 2016.
If re-elected, Trump has pledged to block public schools from “promoting gender transition” and to cut federal funding to schools teaching what he terms “radical gender ideology.” He also threatened to penalize healthcare providers offering gender-affirming care to minors.
At a recent event, Trump made misleading claims about transgender athletes and surgeries in schools, stating, “Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation.” Such surgeries for transgender youth are exceedingly rare, and his campaign could not substantiate these statements when asked.
Walz and Harris, in contrast, have made LGBTQ+ equality central to their campaign, positioning themselves as advocates for the community in the face of rising opposition from Trump and his allies.
