Gov. Tim Walz speaks behind a podium at a Human Rights Campaign dinner. Superimposed over the image is a photo of two male penguins.

Governor Tim Walz is not only a proud Minnesota dad, an outspoken ally for the LGBTQ+ community, and a candidate for Vice President of the United States.

He’s also a fan of gay penguins. Could we not love this man any more?!

During a headlining speech at Human Rights Campaign’s national dinner on Saturday, the 60-year-old Democrat recounted Kamala Harris‘ longstanding history of advocating for gay Americans, the current administration’s LGBTQ+ wins, and what’s at stake this election.

At one point, Walz (who’s spearheaded an impressive list of protections for the queer community in Minnesota) recalled his 2006 run for the House of Representatives. Despite his district’s historically conservative past, he won the seat.

“Some people came up to me [after the election] and said, ‘Wow, you won in spite of being pro-choice and pro-gay marriage,'” he recalled. “I said, ‘No, no, no. You’ve got this wrong. I won because I was for those positions.”

Nevertheless, the most viral moment came towards the end of his speech, when Walz questioned the weird Republican Party’s priorities, including banning LGBTQ+ books and doing nothing to ensure their children’s safety in schools.

Watch.

“[They think] reading about two male penguins who love each other is somehow going to turn your children gay, and that’s what you should worry about,” Walz explained. “Here’s what I’ll tell you: it’s a fact of life, some people are gay. But you know what’s not a fact of life? That our children need to be shot dead in schools. That’s not a fact of life.”

Of course, Walz referred to And Tango Makes Three, a picture book about two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo raising a baby together. Naturally, the title — written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson — has been unfairly targeted by Florida school districts under “Don’t Say Gay” laws.

Really?! GOP politicians are still worked up about a book with the subtitle “All kinds of love can make a family.”

Meanwhile, school shootings are on the rise, and anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in schools have more than quadrupled in states “where Republican lawmakers have enacted legislation targeting the community.”

It’s a simple but effective point Walz continued to hammer home, adding, “Folks are banning books, but they’re OK with weapons of war being in our schools.”

“That’s not this country; it doesn’t have to be this way, [and] it doesn’t happen elsewhere,” he explained. “We’re going to make sure our children are seen, they bring their authentic self, and then we’re going to make sure they’re safe when they get there.”

Furthermore, he stressed that a Republican win would have disastrous outcomes for not just the LGBTQ+ community but freedom in general.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance – their idea of freedom [is] that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives, our bedrooms, our kids’ schools, even our doctor’s office,” he said.

“When it comes to personal things: bodily autonomy, your gender identity, when to start a family, marrying who you love … [this] might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that, but I think we just need to be really good neighbors. Everyone just deserves to be treated with respect.”

It was an incredibly well-timed dig at the Trump ticket, considering a recent poll from USA Today and Suffolk University found that 48% of “likely voters” had a “favorable view” of Walz, compared to 36% for JD Vance.

Additionally, Walz performed way better with independent voters, 47% of whom had “an unfavorable view” of Vance. We’ll let those numbers speak for themselves!

Check out some social media reactions to Walz’s viral moment below.

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