4 September 2024
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will travel back to the nation’s capital this weekend to deliver a keynote address at the annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner.
Walz’s speech, set for Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, is expected to focus heavily on the efforts the governor has committed to advancing LGBTQ+ protections in Minnesota.
As the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign “strongly” endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket, citing its commitments to “advancing equality and justice for all.”
The organization has long been a supporter of Walz’s policies, and endorsed him and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to lead Minnesota in both the 2018 and 2022 elections, calling the duo “champions of equality.”
“They’ve fought to ensure that Minnesota remains welcoming to all and they have consistently stood with the LGBTQ+ community, including LGBTQ+ youth, by banning “conversion therapy” in the state last year,” then-Interim President Joni Madison said in June 2022. “Because of their leadership, the LGBTQ+ community in Minnesota is safer, healthier, and more free to be who they are.”
In response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Walz committed himself in 2022 to fighting for stronger equality for all Minnesotans.
“Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court opinion made it clear that the right-wing extremists who are eliminating reproductive rights are coming for our LGBTQ+ neighbors next,” he said. “I am honored to have HRC’s support as we fight to protect and expand equality in Minnesota.”
Well before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, Walz, as a teacher at Mankato West High School, served as a faculty sponsor for the school’s gay-straight alliance.
“Both Tim and Gwen [Walz] were incredibly supportive of their gay students, and they modeled values of inclusivity and respect,” LGBTQ+ activist Jacob Reitan told NBC News in August. “I was bullied in high school. [Their values] helped not just me, but it also, I think, helped the bully. It showed the bully a better path forward, and I can think of no one better than Tim Walz to show that better path forward for America.”
Walz’s trip to Washington comes as he’s visited more than two dozen cities across the country since he was named as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on Aug. 6.
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