Part 2: Republican attacks on Gov. Tim Walz centered on school and transgender policies are ridiculously false
Prominent Trump supporters air egregious fictions trying to take down Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee and current MN Gov. Tim Walz
In the previous post, I addressed “The despicable Swift Boating of Gov. Tim Walz and his 24 years of National Guard service”.
Today, let’s touch upon two other recent fabrications from Trump-land about Gov. Walz.
Did Gov. Walz pass a law mandating supply of menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms in schools? The answer is no.
Here are some excerpts from an Editorial by The Star Tribune in Minnesota:
On Tuesday, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. By Wednesday, the opposition had mobilized with lightning speed for its one of its first political attacks, dubbing Walz “Tampon Tim” in reference to a new state law providing free menstrual products to school students.
The nickname was trending nationally this week on Twitter, an indicator of its political currency. Chaya Raichik, whose scurrilous “Libs of TikTok” account on X (formerly Twitter) has more than 3 million followers, was one of the first to amplify it. Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly added to the momentum, endorsing the nickname via tweet.
And what is the actual fake brouhaha all about? This false claim:
A specific but ill-informed attack on the new Minnesota law is in dire need of a reality check. Critics contend, wrongly, that it mandates menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms. This has unfortunately been used to stoke ongoing culture wars over transgender individuals.
As the Tribune points out:
But the law’s actual language provides considerable flexibility for school districts to implement it, according to Deb Henton, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.
That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls’ bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys’ bathrooms. […]
At Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest school district, the free products are not found in traditional male-only bathrooms, a spokesman said. But they are provided for free to all in “nongendered bathrooms,” girls’ bathrooms or from health staffers.
What is particularly egregious about the lie being spread on this law is that it hides the fact that numerous states - including Republican-run states - have very similar policies, because it helps reduce female student absenteeism.
This is good and necessary policy. Providing free menstrual products is a practical, compassionate remedy to address an under-the-radar reason for student absenteeism. Some families can’t afford menstrual products, and when that happens students stay home instead of going to class, falling behind as they do.
There’s a lot of talk about closing educational achievement gaps in Minnesota and elsewhere, particularly for low-income students. The new state law, which has a price tag of about $2 million a year, is an actual solution to help address this, one that’s relatively low-cost. And there’s real-world data to back it up. New York City schools reported a 2.4% increase in attendance after a state law went into effect requiring free period products for students, according to the advocacy group Alliance for Period Supplies.
Minnesota is far from alone in providing this type of assistance. More than half of the nation’s 50 states have taken steps to help students who struggle to afford tampons and pads. Ohio, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, now requires period products in schools and has provided $5 million in funding for this, the Alliance for Period Supplies reports. Alabama and Georgia provide grants for schools to make free products available.
Did Gov. Walz pass a law allowing MN state to “kidnap” children whose parents did not consent to “gender-affirming” care? The answer is no.
UNC law professor Carissa Byrne Hessick flagged this yesterday, sharing screenshots of the abominable claims from far-right sources:
In case you were wondering, Tim Walz did not sign a law letting the state (or anyone else) kidnap children to give them gender affirming care. The law he signed can affect child custody disputes occurring in other states, but these repeated claims about kidnapping are crazy. […]
The bill [link] itself is pretty long, but basically what it does is create new law to make sure that parents don't lose custody of their kids just because they let them have gender-affirming care.
Here is the text of the relevant law and you can see that it has nothing to do with kidnapping or forcing parents to accept “gender affirming” care for a child. It’s in some ways the opposite - namely, if a parent allowed “gender-affirming care” and another state tried to prevent that parent from having custody of their child, the state of MN would not support such an action:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. [260.925] APPLICATION OF LAWS; GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTH
CARE.
A law of another state that authorizes a state agency to remove a child from the child's parent or guardian because the parent or guardian allowed the child to receive gender-affirming health care, as defined in section 543.23, paragraph (b), is against the public policy of this state and must not be enforced or applied in a case pending in a court in this state. A court order for the removal of a child issued in another state because the child's parent or guardian assisted the child in receiving gender-affirming care in this state must not be enforced in this state.
Voters should therefore be very cautious about any claims emanating from the Republican party in this election cycle, given that the Party’s leader Donald Trump and his foot soldiers in the far-Right media ecosystem are pathological liars.
Finally, a quick note on a third topic involving Gov. Walz.
Trump and his campaign have attacked Gov. Walz for his response to the riots in 2020 after the horrific murder of George Floyd, which had triggered protests worldwide. However, some media outlets have a recording of Trump praising Gov. Wald for his response to the riots - for example, here’s CBS (70 sec mark):
Another clip worth watching is this one from VP Harris’ campaign.
Reporter: Despite Trump’s new criticism, an unearthed audio recording from 2020 shows then-President Trump praising Governor Tim Walz for his handling of George Floyd protests