Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota sharply criticized Senator JD Vance’s comments about the recent school shooting in Georgia, telling an LGBTQ+ advocacy group that such tragedies are not a fact of life.
Vance’s comments, made at a campaign event in Phoenix, came after a reporter asked him about the shooting. A 14-year-old boy is accused of killing two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia with a semiautomatic rifle, injuring nine others. Vance said, I don’t like that this is a fact of life, and called for increased security in schools, describing them as soft targets for attackers.
Walz responded during a speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner, saying, It’s a fact of life some people are gay. But what’s not a fact of life is that children need to be shot dead in schools. He criticized Republicans for allowing weapons of war in schools while banning books.
Republicans defended Vance, emphasizing that he said he didn’t like that shootings are a fact of life and pushed for better school security. However, the Harris campaign continued to criticize Vance, accusing him and Donald Trump of siding with the gun lobby over children’s safety.
Walz warned that Trump’s potential return to the White House would further harm the LGBTQ+ community and limit abortion rights. He urged voters to send a clear message to Trump and Republicans: “Leave our kids the hell alone.” Walz also criticized Vance for missing a vote on the Child Tax Credit and mocked Trump’s unclear plans to address childcare costs.
The event, attended by 3,500 people, was a chance for the Harris-Walz campaign to rally support from Democratic donors. Walz recounted his time as a high school teacher and coach, highlighting his efforts to start a Gay-Straight Alliance in the late 1990s.
Walz concluded with another criticism of Vance’s controversial remarks on childless cat ladies, telling him to stop talking about women’s issues.