How Tim Walz Turned Minnesota Into A 'Trans Refuge'

When Heather Crawford walked into a Minnesota public school to enroll her teenager in August 2022, she was ready for a fight. More than anything, she wanted her then-15-year-old, Cass, who is nonbinary and trans, to be safe at school, to have their name and pronouns respected, and to be able to use the restroom without fear.

The school registrar told Crawford not to worry and handed her a form where she could note Cass’ pronouns for the school’s records.

“I was ready for a fistfight, and it was just as simple as a piece of paper,” Crawford said, recalling that she felt such a wave of relief that she broke down crying in the office.

“It’s so fantastic knowing that the state is not only not actively trying to harm my child but is actively trying to protect them,” she added. “It’s comforting on a level I can’t really fully articulate.”

The Crawfords had uprooted their entire lives to move from Austin, Texas, to St. Paul, Minnesota, after years of watching Texas Republicans enact increasingly hostile policies targeting trans kids. They worried their family might be next.

The final straw for Crawford came in February 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directed Texas’ child protective services to perform “child abuse” investigations against parents who helped their children get gender-affirming care.

Until then, Cass and their parents had been working with a pediatric gender care doctor in Austin who prescribed medication to suppress Cass’ menstrual cycle. Cass, who uses both they and he pronouns, dreamed about getting top surgery. They also wanted to start testosterone but had to wait to make sure they weren’t at risk for a genetic cancer that was triggered by changes in hormones.

Crawford was frightened that her support of this care could put Cass and their family at risk from Texas officials.

She set her eyes on Minnesota in part because of dozens of progressive and trans-inclusive policies championed by Gov. Tim Walz (D), who took the national stage last week when Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced him as her running mate.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed three progressive priorities on April 27, 2023: a ban on conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults and two bills that would make Minnesota a refuge for people traveling to the state for abortion and gender-affirming care.

Crawford’s friends had gushed to her about Walz, a former teacher and veteran with a track record of supporting LGBTQ+ rights dating back to at least 1999 when he became the first faculty adviser for a high school’s gay-straight alliance.

Minnesota had long been praised as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly places in the Midwest. In 1993, it became the first state in the country to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2021, as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation reached a record high in state legislatures across the country, Walz, who was finishing up his first term as governor, signed an executive order banning conversion therapy. “Our kids deserve to grow up in a state that values them for who they are — not one that tries to change them,” he said in a statement at the time.

Last year, Walz helped enact further protections for transgender youth who were traveling to Minnesota for their health care. He signed an executive order to protect access to gender-affirming care for out-of-state patients, their families and medical providers. Walz also signed a trio of bills that further safeguarded access to abortion, banned conversion therapy and made Minnesota into a “trans refuge.” The state currently boasts the largest number of openly LGBTQ+ legislators in state history, and they make up the “queer caucus” that advocated heavily for policies that Walz later signed.

Crawford, who is now a vocal advocate for trans youth, admits she hasn’t always been supportive. When Cass first came out in 2019, she reacted “as badly as you can.”

But after Cass attempted suicide that year, she saw how wrong she was and worked to help Cass socially transition, legally change their name and receive bathroom accommodations at school.

“We were doing everything we could to keep them safe, and then the state came in and ruined it,” Crawford said of living in Texas.

In March 2022, her worry quickly calcified into anger. At a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services meeting, Crawford read aloud the note that Cass had written ahead of their suicide attempt to make a plea to the agency — and to the state of Texas — about how important it was for trans youth to be able to access gender-affirming care.

“We got very lucky because Cass survived, and I got very lucky because Cass forgave me,” she said. “But this isn’t the situation for every child, and they certainly don’t need the state of Texas coming in and enforcing this kind of thing on them.”

Living here, they no longer have the burden of knowing that their right to exist is being debated by the government. Heather Crawford, on moving from Texas to Minnesota

That month, Crawford watched as advocates for trans youth gathered in St. Paul to rally in support of trans kids in states including Texas that were facing an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Dave Edwards, the founder of Gender Inclusive Schools, a Minneapolis-based organization that provides LGBTQ+ training and consulting to schools, said local organizations had tracked around 200 or so people who were traveling from out of state to access gender-affirming care for themselves or their kids.

There has been a “big shift” in terms of LGBTQ+ policies in the state under Walz, who was first elected governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022, Edwards said.

Back in 2016, Edwards and his wife Hannah, who directs Transforming Families Minnesota, a peer support group for trans youth and their families, had successfully sued a St. Paul charter school for failing to use their transgender daughter’s correct name and pronouns.

Their daughter, Hildie, now 14, has since become a leading transgender youth advocate in the state. She was one of the speakers on the steps of the state Capitol in March 2022, urging Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would expand protections in the Civil Rights Act to LGBTQ+ people.

Hildie also stood alongside Walz when he issued the executive order on out-of-state patients and signed the trans refuge bills. Walz held Hildie’s hand at a press conference as he touted the new order.

“I think the way Tim Walz also messages things, it’s an unapologetic support of transgender people in Minnesota. He says he wants Minnesota to be the best place to raise a family; that includes families with gender-expansive kids,” Edwards said.

“He’s allowed the stories of people being happy and healthy that I think sometimes get overlooked in a lot of other states,” he continued. “He sees Hildie as a happy, healthy 14-year-old where being trans is only one part of her identity.”

Minnesota’s policies and Walz’s uncomplicated support of trans youth are what ultimately made the move out of state and life after that easier for the Crawford family.

They consider themselves “extremely fortunate” to be able to shell out the nearly half-million dollars it took to relocate, including finding new jobs, taking pay cuts and purchasing a new home, Crawford said. She now works as a paralegal in St. Paul; her husband works remotely for Texas’ Railroad Commission. They knew plenty of other families with trans children back in Texas who couldn’t afford to do the same.

Cass poses with their mom, Heather Crawford.

And now, they are all finally adjusting to life in the Midwest. Crawford said she even likes the mountains of snow in the winter. In the summer, the family routinely takes trips up to Lake Superior where Cass, who is obsessed with rocks, likes to spend hours combing the shores for pebbles.

An avid fencer, animal lover and Girl Scout, Cass has been welcomed by a new school district where many of their classmates are queer and trans. The now-17-year-old recently met with endocrinologists at Children’s Minnesota after being on a waitlist for over a year.

This fall, Cass is excited to begin their senior year of high school with a host of new friends who have helped dull the grief of the life they left behind in Texas. After graduation, they are looking ahead to apprenticeship programs to become a jewelry designer.

“I can see it in them that living here, they no longer have the burden of knowing that their right to exist is being debated by the government,” Crawford said.

Learning that Walz had become Harris’ pick for vice president was bittersweet for Crawford. She joked that she wanted him to stay put as Minnesota’s governor.

“But on the other hand, I love the idea that the rest of the country is going to get to know him,” she said. “What I love the most about him is that when he speaks about trans folks, there’s no hesitation, there’s no qualification in his voice. To him, trans people are just people and trans children are just children.”

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com . Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention .