Is Tim Walz right that it’s still ‘technically illegal’ to be gay in Nebraska?

THE CLAIM: In a speech this month to the Human Rights Campaign, Minnesota Governor and Democrat Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz told the crowd, “When I was a kid growing up in Nebraska, being gay was illegal,” and added that it is “still technically illegal.” 

RATING: 🛑 COMPLETELY FALSE 🛑 While it’s hard to tell exactly how Walz is defining “being gay,” in no way is it illegal to be gay in Nebraska today, technically or otherwise. The state’s anti-sodomy laws were repealed in 1977. Gay marriage has been universally recognized in Nebraska since 2015, and anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplace has been universally against the law in Nebraska since 2020.

On Sept. 7, Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz spoke to the Human Rights Campaign at the leftwing group’s annual dinner. 

Walz spent most of his speech discussing his and Kamala Harris’s record on LGBT issues while attempting to lambast Republican opponents Donald Trump and JD Vance. 

He made a few questionable claims along the way. Walz repeated the debunked claim that President Trump banned transgender Americans from the military. He also falsely accused Republicans of trying to “ban books” about “two male penguins who love each other.” In reality, Republicans are focused on removing well-documented graphic, sexually-charged books about handjobs, sexting, and strap-ons from school libraries. 

But among the wildest claims was when Walz told the audience, “When I was a kid growing up in Nebraska, being gay was illegal. Still technically illegal.” 

First, it’s important to note that “being gay” is, in fact, very legal in Nebraska, technically or otherwise. Gay marriage has been legal in Nebraska since the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v Hodges decision in 2015, as it has been nation-wide. Likewise, discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace has been illegal in Nebraska – and across the country – since 2020 after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v Clayton, in which Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote them majority opinion.

So what is Walz referring to? It’s hard to say how Walz is defining “being gay” and “illegal” in this claim. 

Gay marriage wasn’t officially banned in Nebraska until a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000, years after Walz had already “grown up” and moved out of the state (he moved to Minnesota in 1996). That amendment has since been rendered null by the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision.

Walz could also have been referring to Nebraska’s anti-sodomy laws, which effectively prohibited homosexual activity. However, those laws were outright repealed by the state legislature in 1977. They may have been in existence when Walz was “growing up,” but they have been off the books for decades, and are thus not still “technically” enforceable.

Conclusion: While it’s unclear as to what law making it “illegal to be gay” in Nebraska Walz was referring to when he was “growing up,” it is in no way illegal to be gay in Nebraska today, technically or otherwise. The state’s anti-sodomy laws were repealed in 1977. Gay marriage has been universally recognized in Nebraska since 2015, and anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplace has been universally against the law in Nebraska since 2020.