Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) blasted Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ+ policies — in particular, their **book-banning crusade and vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) recent line about school shootings being a “fact of life” **— during his keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner on Saturday night.

Referencing GOP book bans against works like And Tango Makes Three, a children’s book about a penguin chick being raised by two male penguins, Walz said, “This is what these folks are focusing on. 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.”

“But here’s what I’ll tell you,” he continued. “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. That’s not a fact of life.”