Harris and Walz have worked with our trans community for decades

In 2002, 17-year-old Gwen Araujo was murdered in California by men who were enraged by the fact that she was transgender. Twenty years later, her mother remembered her with both intense love and intense grief, saying that she viewed her daughter as a “gift from God.” Gwen Smith, co-founder of Trans Day of Remembrance, said at the time that the media coverage of Araujo’s murder exceeded both the Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard trials – two high-profile cases involving the murders of a young trans man and a young gay man, respectively. Nationwide, trans and queer people rallied together to remember our lost loved ones and demand a safer, and more just future for our community.  

Kamala Harris, then the District Attorney of San Francisco, followed Gwen Araujo’s case closely – despite it being outside her jurisdiction. In 2006, after the sentencing of Araujo’s killers, she convened a first-in-the-nation symposium of lawyers, advocates, and elected officials to combat the “gay and trans panic” defense. This defense allows defendants charged with violent crimes to weaponize their victim’s real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression to reduce or evade criminal liability. Whether or not this attempt succeeds in court, every time a defendant invokes the LGBTQI+ “panic” defense, they reinforce the deeply harmful belief that LGBTQI+ lives are worth less than others. 

Trans lawyer and civil rights activist Shannon Minter, who was present in the courtroom during the trial of Araujo’s attackers, remembers Harris’ concern for trans people as “historic,” saying that she “just genuinely cared about the issue.” 

Throughout her career, Kamala Harris worked tirelessly to end the LGBTQI+ “panic” defense. In 2014, as California’s attorney general, she co-sponsored legislation to ban panic defenses in court. At the time, she stated, “I’ve long viewed the panic defense as an injustice not only to our LGBT community, but to all Californians who rightly expect all victims to be treated equally under the law." With the passage of that bill, California became the first state to ban the panic defense, inspiring similar legislation in other states. This summer, Michigan became the 20th state to pass such a ban.  

In 2019, during her first run for the presidential nomination, Harris sat down for an interview with the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund. Reflecting on her long-standing support for trans rights, she said she “couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t important [to her].” 

As San Francisco’s district attorney, she established the first-ever victims assistance program for trans people, and her office made sure that the program was staffed with trans employees. Launched in 2003, this program preceded most elected officials’ engagement with the trans community. Our community even recognized her advocacy when Harris spoke at the Third Annual Trans March in 2006. She was invited for “championing transgender rights.” At a time when such support was uncommon, Harris’ commitment to our community was groundbreaking. 

“I have a long-standing commitment to fighting for the rights of transgender people, for the dignity of transgender people," Harris said in 2019. "I have a long-standing awareness based on my experience in the community of knowing the lives that people are living every day, that are burdened with fear, that are burdened with unequal access to everything from employment to a response from law enforcement to access to health care to access to housing – it covers the gamut, and I'm fully aware of it. And again, this is not new to me." 

Thankfully, it’s not new to Minnesota Governor and Harris’ vice-presidential pick, Tim Walz, either. Over two decades ago, as a teacher, Walz served as the advisor to his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.  

In 2023, Minnesota’ passed a trans refuge law, signed by Govenor Tim Walz, which ensures that transition-related healthcare is available in Minnesota for trans people regardless of their home state. This law also protects healthcare providers from out-of-state extremists like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has repeatedly tried to harass trans patients and our doctors from across state lines.  

Leigh Finke, the first out trans member of Minnesota’s state legislature, said that Walz was “an active ally” throughout the entire process of passing the trans refuge law, and his support hasn’t wavered on the campaign trail.  

Just two weeks ago, the governor said Trump is “demoniz[ing] a group of people for being who they are. [The Harris-Walz campaign] is out there trying to make the case that access to healthcare, a clean environment, manufacturing jobs, and keeping your local hospital open are what people are really concerned about. They’re running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives.” 

Walz’s stance against anti-trans extremism – often emphasizing that people should “mind their own business” and let LGBTQI+ people live freely – offers a refreshing contrast to the violently invasive and anti-trans goals of Project 2025, which underpin Trump and Vance’s campaign. These dangerous policies would erase trans people out of public life, criminalize us for simply existing, strip away our basic rights over our bodies, and attack our families.  

The extremism of the Trump-Vance ticket stands in stark relief to the pro-trans records of Harris and Walz. Under a Harris-Walz administration, we can – and will – continue fighting for better, safer, and freer lives for all trans people.