Tim Walz Is More Pro-LGBTQ+ Than You Might Realize

Throughout the years, the community has seen political advocates come and go. Some were trailblazers, forging a path before there was a path to envision. They didn't build on what was already there; they laid the foundation. People like Harvey Milk come to mind, the first openly gay person elected to any California office (SF Board of Supervisors) who sailed to national prominence opposing California's Brigg's Initiative which would make mandatory the firing of LGBT teachers and school employees. Then there are those straight allies who promised cake and handed us crumbs, like Bill Clinton and his Don't Ask, Don't Tell military requirement forcing us into a gilded closet that essentially victim-blamed those who lost their military careers when outed. Pro-gay expediency was the next level of allyship exemplified by people like Barak Obama, who was against marriage equality but came around because it was good for his numbers. Sure, we fared much better under an Obama administration, and Clinton came around on some issues like marriage equality, but it was politically advantageous to do so and not just because it was the right thing to do.

 

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And then we come to Tim Walz, Vice President Harris's pick for VP, and as many are recently describing him, America's Dad. Every day it seems there's more evidence to suggest that this guy has been displaying and proving his advocacy for our community before it was politically expedient to do so, before it was fashionable, and even before he was a politician! He has been doing the work for years, and The Advocate recently gathered some reasons why we should see Walz as a true ally.

 

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In his mid-thirties as a social studies teacher at Mankato West High School in 1999, he helped to create the schools first gay-straight alliance. As he said why he was the right person to serve as their teacher guide, "It really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married." We couldn't agree more.

You wanna know how good this guy is? He won his first congressional seat in a conservative district in 2006, and kept that seat for five more elections, even holding onto it after felon Donald Trump resoundingly won his district in 2016! You wanna know what was part of his original congressional campaign platform? Marriage equality!

As a congressman he pushed for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, saying in a House of Reps floor speech in 2009 “Not once did I see that this nation was safer because a soldier was removed because of sexual orientation."

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Our servicemembers should've never had to hide who they were in order to serve. The repeal of this discriminatory policy was a crucial step forward towards equality for our servicemembers.️‍ pic.twitter.com/CmJRiUNPS8

— Congressional Equality Caucus (@EqualityCaucus) September 20, 2023

In 2009 as a Congressman, Walz also led the drive to pass the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which added protections for actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity to existing Federal hate crimes laws.

He was one of the first supporters of marriage equality, backing the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act which would eventually be signed into law by President Biden in 2022.

"Our kids deserve to grow up in a state that values them for who they are -- not one that tries to change them....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." Walz took the Minnesota governor's office in 2019, and in 2021 signed a ban on so-called conversion therapy. Again, thinking of the young people!

Gov. Walz signs bill banning conversion therapy by licensed professionals in Minnesota pic.twitter.com/yuXBrNe4pw

— John Croman (@JohnCroman) April 27, 2023

In 2023 he signed into law by executive order laws that protected gender-affirming care, the right to abortion in the state, and a shield law to protect those from prosecution are subpoenaed for information who travel to Minnesota for such care.

And finally, books!

Censorship has no place in our libraries. As a former teacher, I’m clear: We need to remember our history, not erase it.

Today, I signed a bill into law putting an end to book bans based on ideology in Minnesota.

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 17, 2024

To wrap this up, I'm going to "turn the mic over" to my buddy Ernie, who put it pretty well recently:

For the first time I get to vote for candidates who have been on our side since before it was a political necessity.

I happily voted for Obama. I mostly agreed with his positions. I knew what he meant to other minorities. But I did so knowing he didn't support my right to marry

Imagine spending your entire life voting for the common good but having to vote for people who didn't consider you equal.

You can't unless you've had to.

I liked Joe Biden for the most part. But he carried that with him... The whole "I'll jump on board with this as soon as its an issue that helps me poll better"

Harris and Walz have been doing the work for years. Since before it was expected or demanded from a progressive candidate. There is nothing performative or self-serving in their support.

That's only ONE of the multitude of issues they're right about.

Honestly, I'd vote for a sack of rotten potatoes to keep Trump out of office.

But for once I get to vote for myself. Without compromise.

For the first time ever.

And that ain't nothing.