7 Times Vice President Candidate Tim Walz Has Stood Up for the Queer Community

From banning conversion therapy to signing Minnesota's Trans Refuge Bill, Walz has been an impactful ally

Tim Walz, right, applauds Rep. Leigh Finke, sponsor of Minnesota's Trans Refuge BIll, at the bill's signing in 2023. Photo: Facebook

Published: August 6, 2024 | Last Updated: August 6, 2024

If it couldn’t be Michigan’s favorite gay dad Pete Buttigieg, it's still a relief that it's Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz. Time and again, Gov. Walz has unabashedly supported the LGBTQ+ community in Minnesota, proving that it’s more than lip service for this longtime public servant.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another Michigander we'd love to see on the next presidential ballot, posted to X, "I'm so excited that my friend @Tim_Walz will be the next Vice President of the United States! As a fellow Midwesterner and governor, I know firsthand that his leadership is an important asset to this ticket. He’ll be an excellent partner for @KamalaHarris, and I’ll do everything I can to get them elected this November. Let’s go win this thing!

Who is Tim Walz?

The 60-year-old governor is a former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer and retired teacher who has served as governor of fellow Blue Wall state, Minnesota, since 2019. Prior to his time in the governor’s mansion, Walz served for 12 years as a U.S. Congressman in Minnesota’s 1st district.

Born in Nebraska, Walz has an American heartland background that includes time spent with the Army National Guard and as a teacher and football coach in Minnesota starting in the ‘90s. He’s known for a folksy, plain-spoken demeanor and for reaching across the aisle to work with conservatives. Most recently, Walz has earned a badge of honor by starting the “weird” trend when it comes to describing the frequently odd behaviors and talking points of JD Vance and former President Trump.

How has Tim Walz advocated and protected the LGBTQ+ community?

1. Walz restricted conversion therapy for minors in Minnesota.

In July 2021, the governor signed an executive order banning conversion therapy for minors. Minnesota was one of the first states to implement a ban like this through executive action. The order requires the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the state’s Department of Commerce to “request attestations from health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and health plan companies that they do not cover conversion therapy,” and will implement any rules within their powers to “restrict [financial] coverage of conversion therapy.” Since then, DHS no longer pays for conversion therapy through Medicaid and the state can actively investigate and pursue civil enforcement actions against conversion therapy providers.

2. Walz supported reforms protecting LGBTQ+ youth living in foster care.

Walz went on record in support of a federal rule established by the Biden administration late last year that requires child welfare agencies to place LGBTQ+ children in “environments free of hostility, mistreatment, or abuse” based on the child’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.” The rule requires caregivers to undergo cultural competency training to ensure these youth are placed in homes where their identities are affirmed.

3. Walz has appointed many LGBTQ+ people to his administration.

In addition to filling several key administration roles with LGBTQ+ community members, Walz has been vocally supportive of the state’s Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans, established by the state legislature in 2023. “The Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans works to implement economic, social, legal, and political equality for Minnesota's community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive, queer, intersex, asexual, or two-spirit,” according to the group’s description on the Minnesota Secretary of State website. The governor appointed the first 12 members of the Council earlier this year.

4. As a teacher, Walz helped establish his school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance.

As a 35-year-old social studies teacher in Mankato, Minnesota in the late ‘90s, Walz served as the first advisor to Mankato West High School’s gay-straight alliance (GSA).

5. Walz was an early, staunch supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage.

In 2006, Walz won his election to the U.S. Congress against a conservative Republican while running on a platform that included support for same-sex marriage, banned in Minnesota in 1997. “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,” out lesbian Angie Craig, a U.S. congresswoman from Minnesota wrote on X while endorsing Walz for vice president. “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.”

6. Walz has made Minnesota a trans refuge.

Minnesota stands as a leader among trans-supportive states and as a beacon of hope for trans individuals and their families who relocate there. In 2023, Walz signed the Trans Refuge Bill, sponsored by out transgender Rep. Leigh Finke. The law “prohibits the enforcement of a court order for the removal of a child or enforcement of another state’s law being applied in a pending children protection action in Minnesota when the law of another state allows the child to be removed from parents or guardians for receiving medically necessary health care or mental health care that respects the gender identity of the patient.”

“In Minnesota, we’re protecting rights, not taking them away,” Walz posted to X, adding in another post he was “proud to sign it into law”.

“From the moment I was sworn in as a member of the Minnesota Legislature, it became clear to me that Governor Walz was committed to being a true ally for the queer community. In the past two years, Governor Walz has signed Minnesota’s historic Trans Refuge Legislation, a law banning conversion therapy, historic levels of funding for HIV prevention and treatment, created a statewide LGBTQ+ Council, and so much more. Governor Walz has always showed up for our community.” Finke said in a statement on Aug. 6. “This year, the choice couldn’t be clearer for our community. We have an opportunity to elect a transformational, historic figure in Kamala Harris, one of the greatest public champions for queer people in Governor Walz, or we risk being erased from legal protections by Donald Trump and his allies. Every queer person in the country should be activated and engaged between now and November.”

7. Walz, a former U.S. service member, fought to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

As a Congressman, the 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard fought to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibited LGBTQ+ community members from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Forces. He also vocally supported the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed in 2009. The Act expanded prior federal hate crimes and legislation to include protections for violent acts based on actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.