Tim Walz hit back at Republicans with a “fact of life” Saturday after Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) response following the deadly school shooting in Georgia.

The Minnesota governor, in a speech to the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington, D.C., knocked right-wing book ban efforts by pointing to a bill he signed into law this year that prohibits book bans at libraries in his state.

“Like 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,” said Walz, referring to the frequently challenged children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” as he paused for light laughs from the crowd.

“But 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.”

Walz’s comments arrive after former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick weighed in on school shootings at an Arizona campaign rally Thursday, declaring, “I don’t like that this is a fact of life.”

Vance added, “But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets, and we have got to bolster security at our schools.”

His comments saw backlash from Democrats while The Associated Press reshared a post on X, formerly called Twitter, featuring Vance’s remarks after his communications director criticized the outlet for partially quoting him, according to New York Magazine’s Intelligencer.

Republicans have likewise pointed to the full quote from Vance in response to criticism, which was: “I don’t like this. I don’t like to admit this. I don’t like that this is a fact of life. But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets, and we have got to bolster security at our schools.”

The remarks came just days after two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

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There have been 417 school shootings in over 25 years since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, with over 383,000 students having experienced a school shooting in that time period, according to an analysis of data by The Washington Post.

Walz, in his remarks at the HRC dinner, added that “folks are banning books” but are “OK with weapons of war being in our schools.”

“Look, that’s not this country, it doesn’t have to be this way, it doesn’t happen elsewhere,” said Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

He continued, “We’re going to make sure our children are seen, they bring their authentic selves, and then we’re going to make sure they’re safe when they get there.”

Walz: This is what these folks are focusing on. Like reading about about two male penguins who love each other is somehow going to turn your children gay… It’s a fact of life some people are gay, but you know what’s not a fact of life? That our children get shot dead in schools. pic.twitter.com/tFAXOMkZNG

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 8, 2024

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