Tim Walz’s state became a “trans sanctuary.” Here's what that means and how it happened

MINNEAPOLIS — As Gov. Tim Walz prepares to debate with Sen. JD Vance on Tuesday night, Minnesota's status as a “trans sanctuary state” will likely be in the spotlight.

“He's very into transgender, everything he thinks is great,” former President Trump said on Fox the day after Walz was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris as Vice President. (Trump has promised to eliminate gender-affirming youth care nationwide if elected.)

In Arizona earlier this month, Vance falsely claimed that the “trans protection” law signed by Walz allowed the state to “take children away from their parents if they do not want to undergo gender reassignment.” He added: “This is not small government, this is disgusting and he should be ashamed.”

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Star Tribune via Getty Images

Here's what Minnesota's Trans Refugee Act is, how it works, and how Walz was involved in passing the law.

A trio of Democrats

The first thing to understand about how politically purple Minnesota came to pass this law is that voters in 2022 elected Democratic majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the governor's office. It was Democrats' first trifecta in a decade, and lawmakers laid out a list of priorities.

Making the state a “trans sanctuary” was not on that list. But freshman Rep. Leigh Finke, the first transgender member of the Minnesota state legislature, made sure it was added.

“I knew we had to do something because the national, coordinated anti-trans wave was gaining momentum,” Finke says.

In 2023, between January and May, 15 states across the country passed laws banning gender-affirming youth care, including Minnesota's neighboring states of Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

“In 2023 the dominoes have fallen,” says Finke. “The obvious urgency was clear to members of the Minnesota Legislature.”

Walz's support was the key to passage

Walz, who served in the governor's mansion, has been an active ally in efforts to protect transgender people in the state and is not a newcomer to the issue, Finke says. “Walz is a teacher and his past includes serving as an advisor to the Gay Straight Alliance at Mankato West (High School),” she points out. “People who are around young people and have seen what it means to deny people their authentic fullness – they get it.”

He “clearly supported this all along,” Finke says, and quickly signed an executive order to create some protections in case the bill doesn’t make it through the Legislature. With her party holding a very slim majority, Finke said she spoke to “every single Democrat in the Legislature – and some of them for hours” about the bill and its significance.

On the day of the House vote, protesters filled the House speaking for and against the bill. The on-site debate was controversial and lasted many hours. “We voted in the House at 5:45 a.m. — it was a filibuster situation — and everyone stayed awake and made it happen,” she said. In the end, the bill passed in both the House and Senate, and only two Democrats in the entire Legislature voted against it, she says. “I am incredibly proud and grateful.”

Walz signed the bill in front of the camera. As he signed, he said, “Love conquers” and presented a pen to teenage Hildie Edwards, who testified in favor of the bill, and another to Rep. Finke.

What the law says

The law protects the privacy of patients and physicians when it comes to gender-inclusive care in Minnesota.

“If you are trying to access health care for transition-related reasons, you may receive that care in the state of Minnesota, regardless of where you live, and while you are in the state of Minnesota, you will be protected by our laws,” explains Finke.

The law also protects medical providers from out-of-state subpoenas. Finke points to how Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to obtain medical records for transgender Texans from Seattle Children's Hospital. “Under our bill, the attorney general’s job is to protect Minnesotans so they can receive gender-equitable care,” she says, so hospitals and doctors in the state don’t have to worry about such efforts.

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NPR

The law does not regulate care itself – it was already legal in Minnesota, and the details of a patient's treatment are governed by standards of care and by the individual's decisions, made in consultation with their family and doctor.

One provision of the law concerns custody cases, which Vance referenced when he claimed the state of Minnesota could kidnap children. “There is nothing like this anywhere in this law – it is a made-up lie,” says Finke. The bill would require certain custody cases to be heard in a Minnesota family court and allow judges to issue temporary restraining orders. However, it does not specify which parent will receive custody or give custody to the state. “The state cannot claim jurisdiction or custody of a child,” she says. “Of course that’s not possible.”

A trans influx

Since Minnesota's Trans Protection Act was a response to anti-trans laws in states across the country, the circumstances were “much more tragic than celebratory,” Finke says.

Many transgender people and their families living in states with bans feel like they are being displaced. “Hundreds of people and families moved to Minnesota within the first six months – I’m sure that’s a significant undercount,” Finke said. “And I know the closer we get to the election, the more we're going to get.” She says transgender people and their families are worried about what another Trump presidency could mean for their rights, not just in terms of access to health care, but also in relation to military service, housing and employment discrimination, among other things.

Since Minnesota's law went into effect last spring, it has impacted health care providers in the state. Children's Minnesota, which runs a gender program for youth, has seen a roughly 30% increase in calls from patients in neighboring states. The hospital told NPR that the waiting list for new patients is about a year long and that new doctors have been hired to keep up with demand. Family Tree Clinic, a gender-affirming care provider in Minneapolis, has launched a program to train more doctors across the state in this type of care.

Some families who can't move end up having to drive hundreds of miles to see gender-affirming care providers in Minnesota. A Minneapolis doctor told NPR he currently has 15 patients who have this happen.

Walz leans forward

During the presidential campaign, Walz is not afraid to support LGBTQ+ rights.

He headlined the Human Rights Campaign's recent annual dinner and proudly listed how he and Harris have championed LGBTQ+ rights throughout their careers. He told the crowd, as he had said many times on the campaign trail, that there is a saying in Minnesota: “Everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine.”

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Getty Images

“This is really a longstanding Minnesota value,” said Finke, who was born and raised in the state. “People don’t necessarily want to interfere – for better or worse – in the lives of their neighbors, and that has allowed us to do a lot of good, progressive work.”

“Some of the earliest civil rights transactions took place here,” she adds. “In 1978, the ACLU argued that a trans woman could stay in the Army and keep her job. We were the first country to protect transgender people in its human rights law. It’s always just been part of the fabric here.”

The personal is political

Rep. Leigh Finke has faced intense opposition to her trans legislative work — including threats and harassment. In some ways, this helped fuel her own political rise. “I’m a little famous in the Midwest,” she grins.

“There were some viral moments in the House of Representatives of conservatives going on tirades against me and against trans people, and it gave us an opportunity to stand strong and be able to say, 'Here we are, queer forever,' 'You can't us.' “Just shout at them and make them disappear,” she says.

She has also received positive attention. Last year, she was named USA Today's “Woman of the Year” for Minnesota and recognized as a “Healthcare Hero” by Children's Minnesota.

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AFP via Getty Images

And she's glad that transgender people are more represented in public life than when she was growing up in suburban Minnesota in the '80s and '90s. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” she says, pointing out that she didn’t come out as transsexual until she was an adult. “And I’m so grateful that I did it. And I’m so grateful that I’m now in a position where other people can see not only that trans people exist, but also that we’re succeeding.”

But as she knocks on the door for re-election this fall, Finke says transgender issues are not what voters are worried about. “I think people generally don’t want to talk about trans kids, they’d rather just let us live our lives.”

Instead, she likes to talk about her other political priorities, such as housing, art and urban tree policy.

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