Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s statements about laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination has drawn the ire of LGBT rights groups. Last week, Pawlenty told Newsweek that he regretted his vote for the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act which outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and told the magazine that the law protecting transgender Minnesotans from discrimination should be changed.

The National Transgender Campaign for Equality took Pawlenty to task in a statement on Monday.

“In this interview, Governor Pawlenty disrespects the professionalism of Minnesota teachers, including transgender teachers, and is willing to use children as a shield from criticism for his change in position about anti-discrimination legislation,” NTCE said in a statement. “What cynical maneuvering on his part.”

“Sadly, Gov. Pawlenty states his opinion that the law should be changed—taking rights away from the people of his own state is certainly not evolution in our book,” the group continued. “The online article is titled, ‘Tim Pawlenty Gets No Respect.’ We can certainly see why.”

The NCTE also told the Advocate that Pawlenty “ought to be ashamed of himself.”

“He knew exactly what he was voting for,” said executive director Mara Keisling. “In the interview he was asked how his views have evolved. Well, they’ve evolved to become less inclusive. He’s pandering to the far-right wing of his party, and picking on teachers who devote their lives to kids. … It’s cynical politics at its worst.”

OutFront Minnesota’s Monica Meyer also criticized Pawlenty’s statements.

“This is a tactic he’s taken before to appeal to a conservative base in the Republican Party,” Meyer told The Advocate. “He has handed out paperwork saying, ‘this is my biggest regret, this vote.’ It is really unfortunate, but not surprising. It is so sad when we watch candidates and elected officials try to pander to some kind of fear in voters.”