![\"Minnesota](\"https:\/\/abuwjaawap.cloudimg.io\/v7\/_lgbtqnation-assets_\/assets\/2025\/05\/usatsi-26006059-168404765-lowres.jpg?auto=format&auto=compress&gravity=face\")
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a town hall on March 14, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz<\/a> (D) said that Democrats shouldn\u2019t abandon LGBTQ+ voters and should continue to defend trans equality going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a mistake,\u201d he told The Independent<\/em><\/a>. \u201cAnd here\u2019s the thing: we need to tell people your cost of eggs, your health care being denied, your homeowner\u2019s insurance, your lack of getting warning on tornadoes coming has nothing to do with someone\u2019s gender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The longtime LGBTQ+ ally agreed with Charlie Kirk on excluding trans girls from school sports.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n During the 2024 election, the Republican presidential campaign and allied PACs spent over $215 million on anti-trans ads portraying Kamala Harris as obsessed with helping trans people at the expense of cis people. One ad summed it up: \u201cKamala Harris is for they\/them.\u201d This was despite the fact that the Harris-Walz campaign studiously avoided discussing rights for trans people<\/a> more than even previous Democratic presidential campaigns had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the elections in November, several Democrats have suggested the party move to the right on transgender rights issues. \u201cThe Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,\u201d Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) said in November. \u201cI don\u2019t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don\u2019t think biological boys should be playing in girls\u2019 sports. Democrats aren\u2019t saying that, and they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz, though, said that the problem for Democrats is finding a way to defend transgender people\u2019s rights without making the issue a \u201cfocal point\u201d in future campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think we have to figure out how to not get sucked in and allow that to be the focal point only, and that we can multitask, and we can hold several things simultaneously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can protect LGBTQ rights and basic human rights at the same time. We can make sure that we hold drug companies accountable for high prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz has a solid record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. He signed a bill in 2023<\/a> making Minnesota a trans sanctuary state and ordered the Minnesota Department of Health to prepare a report summarizing scientific evidence about the safety and effectiveness of gender-affirming health care. That same year, he signed a ban on conversion therapy, and in 2024 he signed a bill banning the LGBTQ+ panic defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter<\/strong><\/a> and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The challenge, he said, is not making LGBTQ+ issues a “focal point” in future campaigns. By\u00a0Alex Bollinger\u00a0Tuesday, May 20, 2025 (lgbtqnation.com) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a town hall on March 14, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (D) said that Democrats shouldn\u2019t… Continue reading \n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cBetrayal\u201d: Gavin Newsom agrees with MAGA activist trans athletes are \u201cdeeply unfair\u201d<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n