Ever since he was named Kamala Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been the subject of many hashtags, with one of our favorites being #TamponTim. It was back in 2022 that Oregon began installing tampon dispensers in boys' restrooms under Oregon's Menstrual Dignity Act. Plenty of blue states are installing tampon dispensers in boys' restrooms. Some boys made a record in Connecticut by ripping down the tampon dispenser 20 minutes after it was installed.
Minnesota under Walz has joined those states mandating that tampon dispensers be installed in public school boys' restrooms. CBS News has pounced on the Trump campaign criticizing Minnesota's mandate and found advocates who say free tampons are essential.
Aimee Picchi reports:
As governor of Minnesota, one of Tim Walz's accomplishments was signing a 2023 education law that included a mandate for schools to provide free menstrual supplies to students in grades 4 through 12.
That mandate is drawing fresh attention as the Trump campaign seeks to criticize Walz for the law, claiming it requires school districts to supply tampons and pads to both female and male bathrooms due to transgender boys who may menstruate. On social media, the hashtag #TamponTim began trending on August 6, the day Walz was named as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate for the Democratic presidential ticket.
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The Minnesota law, however, doesn't specify in which bathrooms the menstrual supplies must be located; instead, it requires school districts to develop plans to ensure all students who menstruate can access free tampons and pads, Lacey Gero, director of government relations at the advocacy group Alliance for Period Supplies, told CBS MoneyWatch. Her group advocates for free tampons and pads in schools, prisons and other institutions and eliminating the so-called tampon tax.
While it's unclear how many transgender children could benefit from free menstrual supplies, the impact is mostly felt by the millions of girls who experience so-called "period poverty," or the inability to afford pads and tampons. About one in four teenagers who menstruate struggle to pay for period products, according to a 2023 study from the advocacy group Period.
So there are actually advocacy groups out there called Alliance for Period Supplies and Period. CBS News notes that the program mostly benefits girls who can't afford period supplies. And we're certain the Trump campaign has no problem with putting free tampon dispensers in girls' restrooms. (This editor's old enough to remember the Mitt Romney campaign and the rumor that he was going to ban tampons if elected.) CBS News, no one's making fun of Walz for putting tampon dispensers in girls' restrooms.
Hillary Clinton even tried to hijack the #TamponTim hashtag, much like CBS News ignoring their presence in boys' restrooms.
Let's do this in girls' restrooms everywhere. No argument.
Note how CBS News' story is about advocating for giving girls free tampons at school, mostly benefiting those who can't afford them. (Are they that pricey? This editor doesn't know.) Way to run cover, CBS.