What has Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz said about LGBTQ+ rights?
Kamala Harris has named Tim Walz as her running mate for the US presidential election, but where does he stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
Harris became the Democratic presumptive nominee for the presidency after Joe Biden announced his decision not to seek re-election. She was officially confirmed as the first woman of colour at the top of a major party ticket on Monday (5 August).
Harris’ choice comes after several viral TikTok’s incorrectly – and very bizarrely – suggested former Hannah Montana star Jason Earles was going to be her running mate.
Walz, 60, has been governor of Minnesota since 2019 and previously served for 12 years as a congressman for the state’s first district. He gained national attention after calling Donald Trump and JD Vance “weird” – a phase which has caught on with the Democrat campaign.
He was one of the final contenders for the vice-president pick, reportedly alongside Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, Andy Besher and Pete Buttigieg.
Within minutes of the announcement Republican presidential nominee Trump described him as “dangerously liberal extremist”. Maybe that’s partly because Walz has a strong record on protecting LGBTQ+ rights in both Minnesota and nationally. This is what he has said.
Banning ‘conversion therapy’
Last year, Walz signed into a law ban on LGBTQ+ conversion practices in Minnesota, making it the 22nd state to do so.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) declared it an “example of how pro-equality state legislatures and governors are able to advance LGBTQ+ rights, even as other states are rolling back critical rights and protections”.
The legislation, which passed by 36 votes to 27 in the Democrat-controlled house, “bans conversion therapy for children and vulnerable adults, medical assistance coverage… and misrepresentation of conversion therapy services or products”.
Sarah Warbelow, a legislative director at HRC, said at the time: “We applaud governor Tim Walz for signing this conversion therapy ban into law and for once again taking a strong stand for LGBTQ+ Minnesotans. This law will protect vulnerable youth from being subjected to a traumatic and damaging treatment that has been disproven and debunked by the entire medical community.
“During his time in office, Walz has shown himself to be a pro-equality champion, prioritising the safety and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community, and especially youth, in Minnesota. At a time when radical politicians in other states are attacking LGBTQ+ rights, we celebrate governor Walz’s leadership and commitment to equality for all.”
Made Minnesota a trans refuge
Walz also signed a bill protecting trans youth and their families who come to Minnesota from states where accessing gender-affirming care is illegal.
The bill, co-authored by 36 Minnesotan politicians, aims to block out-of-state subpoenas that would force families with trans kids back to anti-trans states, thus preventing them accessing gender-affirming care.
“In Minnesota, we’re protecting rights, not taking them away,” Walz wrote on X/Twitter, adding in another post he was “proud to sign it into law”.
Supported same-sex marriage
He first ran for office in 2006 in a Republican-leaning district, on a platform which included support for equal marriage – a move that was ahead of its time.
“It wasn’t a popular position at the time for a red-district Democrat. It didn’t score him any political points. But he stood up for families like mine because he believed it was the right thing to do,” Democrat congresswoman Angie Craig wrote on X in support of Walz’s vice-presidential campaign.
“His bravery made a difference in my life and the lives of thousands of Minnesotans – and it’s a bravery that would make our country better.”
A teacher for more than three decades, Walz also advised the first gay-straight alliance at a school where he taught in 1999.
Called for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Walz spent 24 years in the army National Guard, and in 2009 delivered a speech in congress where he called for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a military policy which barred gay and lesbian personnel from serving openly.
“Not once, not once in my career did the question of sexual orientation come up. Not once was the ability of that unit to deliver the security and deliver their mission ever predicated on sexual orientation. Not once did I see that this nation was safer because a soldier was removed because of sexual orientation,” Walz said in the speech.
At the time, members of the US armed forces were serving in Afghanistan alongside 12 other nations which “allow their military to serve as openly gay and lesbian soldiers” and “not one incident in that conflict has arisen because of that”, he added.
“So, I stand with my captain side by side on this. I can assure the American public, the professionalism of our force and the unwavering commitment to this country of the military is in absolutely secure hands, and to give other Americans the ability to serve and be a part of that is something that this congress must do.”
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