Zach Wahls Defends Gay Marriage To Iowa Legislators (VIDEO)

A 19-year-old University of Iowa engineering student defended gay marriage in a rousing testimony in front of the Iowa House of Representatives this week. Zack Wahls spoke out against a resolution which would end civil unions in Iowa by describing his own experience as the son of two lesbian partners.

"Our family really isn't so different from any other Iowa family," said Wahls. "When I am home, we go to church together, we eat dinner, we go on vacations."

Wahls emphasized the typical nature of his upbringing, as well as his own success. He is an Eagle Scout and a small business owner. He also scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. "If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I would make you very proud," he said.

A sixth-generation Iowan, Wahls finished his testimony on an impassioned note. "In my 19 years not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple," he said. "And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character."

Wahls had previously written about the issue in the University of Iowa's student newspaper:

Last fall, I had the opportunity, courtesy of Iowa Public Radio's "The Exchange," to talk with a Tea Partier about this very topic. When I mentioned that two lesbian women raised me, her face turned to shock and then concern. She asked if I ever had yearning to meet my father — an anonymous sperm donor.

My answer was — and remains — "no." And no, I don't feel damaged or that my childhood was somehow scarred. Maybe I have, in some way undetectable to me, been permanently harmed by having two moms. I guess I can't be sure.

The resolution passed in a 62-37 vote.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

Comments

[JeremiahA]

12:18 PM on 03/01/2011

I am still waiting for the part where he explains why Iowans must recognize every desire people have as a right.

And I hope this young man speaks again after five-ten years in the world outside of academia and see whether his views are the same. Maybe they will be, but from my experience, I would be surprised if they were.

[Jason N]

11:46 AM on 03/08/2011

"I am still waiting for the part where he explains why Iowans must recognize every desire people have as a right."

Just stop. You've been told NUMEROUS times that the SCOUTS has declared marriage a right, and a fundamental one at that. IT IS A RIGHT. Further, even if it wasn't, govt. cannot confer benefits to an institution without giving equal access barring rational discriminatory reason.

"And I hope this young man speaks again after five-ten years in the world outside of academia and see whether his views are the same"

Yeah, spend a few years listening to yahoos like you and I'm SURE he will understand that he isn't the same. He's better than those like you.

[JeremiahA]

01:14 PM on 03/08/2011

"IT IS A RIGHT."

I have the right to bear arms. Let's say I desired to carry a loaded gun openly onto an airplane. I would be stopped and rightfully so. In other words, everyone has the right to marry in America. If there is any inequality, it is an inequality of desire, not a legal inequality.

"Yeah, spend a few years listening to yahoos like you and I'm SURE he will understand that he isn't the same."

I think he'll come to realize that all of his critical thinking skills were drummed out of him and moral relativism was drummed into him while he was traveling the halls of higher learning,

"He's better than those like you."

God, I hope so. My generation really had some foolish ideas in the 60's/70's.

[Lattanka]

01:19 PM on 02/17/2011

Clearly memorized!

[Steve Victor Fitzgerald]

11:08 PM on 02/12/2011

That young man is an excellent speaker, and living proof that gays CAN raise kids just fine, and that American CAN make some progress. We have a ways to go, of course, but I imagine there are lots more good kids like him willing to stand up for their gay parents and the real meaning of family, which has nothing to do with the sex of one's parents.

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:07 PM on 02/09/2011

It is my understanding that this discriminatory resolution has been tabled. Good! And leave it that way. GLBT people do no one harm and there is no reason in a country of many faiths that the mores of one religion should have any more weight in public law than another.

[Alex Russell]

05:28 PM on 02/07/2011

I'm thrilled by his speech. The "leaders" of today might limit our rights; denying us the rights that come with marrying the one that we love...today.It is the younger generation that I'm in and that he is in that will carry forward the message of equality so that one day we can, freely and without worry or hesitation, marry the ones we love. With that right to openly love we will be able to build upon it a family that embodies the good, loving, and caring traits of our culture and not one that is suppressed by the ignorance that is the dominant culture of today. I am happy to see such an outstanding result of such a loving and caring family. It won't be easy...but I'm excited for the future.

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:09 PM on 02/09/2011

Fanned and faved! This young man indeed gives me hope. It is so disheartening to see my generation, the one that protested and marched for the rights of others now thinking they should have the right to take rights away. I guess I'm still a 60s radical at heart, but better that than some cold-hearted bigot.

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:53 PM on 02/07/2011

Would the haters on here care to try to justify this?

http://equalityfederation.salsalabs.com/o/35009/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=261

[baxtron]

02:11 PM on 02/07/2011

I hope my little dude will grow up to be as wise as that man.

[Bob Kellerman]

03:55 AM on 02/07/2011

FOLKS, I SUGGEST NOT REPLYING

To the obvious right-wing xxxhxlxs who just love to argue. If we all took the time we spent trying to reason with PC Contrarian alone on PICKETING MORMON TEMPLES
we might get more of a result

[PC Contrarian]

07:01 PM on 02/07/2011

And if you spent half the time addressing this issue on a rational and truly equal basis, you might not suffer from the illusion of conflict.

[McCallen Campbell]

01:44 AM on 02/07/2011

I have watched this video twice, that last twenty seconds has made me cry both times.

[ConservativeAlways]

02:00 PM on 02/07/2011

Overly-Dramatic much? I support the cause by the way, but crying..really?

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:56 PM on 02/07/2011

Maybe some people just have a soft, kind heart. It sort of teared me up, too.

[JTJMOMEDTEK]

05:02 PM on 02/07/2011

Do you really support the cause? Do you vote for candidates that support the cause because if you vote Republican you really don't "support the cause".
Maybe I'm assuming because of your nick name. If so , I appologize.

[Denene Ruby McBride]

11:37 PM on 02/06/2011

Anyone would be proud to have that young man as his or her son. His mothers are to be commended for teaching him to be a person of integrity and character - AND for speaking up for what he believes in. It is the youth of this nation that must take the reins and mold this country into what it is going to be.

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:56 PM on 02/07/2011

They give me hope that the idea of "liberty and justice for all" will one day become reality in our country. I hope I will live to see it.

[chaya]

05:13 PM on 02/06/2011

What an amazing young man.

[darleneslee]

01:53 PM on 02/06/2011

My son is a graduate of the University of Iowa and I thought that was one of the proudest moments of my life, but Zach took proud to another level. Congratulations to his mothers for producing such a beautiful ray of sunshine on what can be such a blight on America's conscience. Kudos to all that played a role in his life. I only wish this country would come out of the dark ages.

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:58 PM on 02/07/2011

Fanned and faved. I look to the day when acceptance and inclusion are the norm rather than intolerance and exclusion.

[PC Contrarian]

07:15 PM on 02/07/2011

Does that acceptance and tolerance extend to polygamists; or do you want to exclude them from "marriage equality", like so many "enlightened" folks here?

[Daniel Hicks]

08:19 PM on 02/20/2011

This argument holds absolutely no water. All homosexual couples are asking for is to be treated equally under the law, as is guaranteed by the US Constitution. If it is legal for a man to marry a woman, how does a woman not have the right to marry a woman, seeing as they ostensibly have all the same rights and privileges? Polygamy inherently defies this rule by granting new rights (the ability to marry TWO women/men). See? Gays are just asking for their guaranteed rights not to be infringed, while polygamists would have to be granted additional rights. And, don't try to start with incest, child and animal marriage. Children and animals can't legally consent, so no issue there, and the government has a compelling interest in keeping incestuous couplings to a minimum. (It in and of itself causes genetic disease (inbreeding depression). Homosexual couplings do not.)

[Ian Faus]

01:32 PM on 02/06/2011

The speech was good but it was delivered really well too. No pauses, not too fast, not too slow. Very good variance in tone and making the right pauses. The diction used in the speech wasn't too hard yet wasn't too pedestrian either. All in all, a good speech delivered well. A home run!

[PhineasGage730]

05:46 PM on 02/06/2011

HHAHHA, way to make such an impassioned speech sound like a mathematical equation.

I could just imagine you when receiving your Valentines Day gift: "It's weighted, implying cost, but not too heavy, as not to distract from the supposed sentimentality of the gesture. All in all honey, I say good job! A real home run! Later, at around 15 past ten we can retire to the bedroom and commence with our bi-weekly interc0urse. Heck, I'm feeling spontaneous tonight...make it 10."

[Ian Faus]

03:35 AM on 02/07/2011

LOL, yes it was quite rousing. But with all the mawkish comments on the contents of the speech, I think I made a genuine observation. The speech was good, but imagine how much worse it could be if he was stuttering or there he was chocking on sobs or he was nervous as hell and messed up ?

Public speaking is a skill and it's not just what you say but how you say it that matters a LOT. I think it is proper to recognize that as well as the contents of the speech itself.

And FYI, "bi-weekly" is role-play night!

[Turtlenewz]

01:21 AM on 02/06/2011

why are so many people in Iowa so H a t e fu l ??

[WheelsOnFire]

01:24 AM on 02/06/2011

It's a regressive, repressive, totalitarian society.

It's what happens when little minds insist that we all live in a little tent in this country -- in defiance of what our founding fathers had intended.

[PhineasGage730]

05:47 PM on 02/06/2011

To be fair...our founding fathers weren't all that open-minded when it came to certain (social) issues as well.

[thegreatestbak]

03:29 PM on 02/06/2011

Brotherhood leads to Social Democracy - which means lots of people lose their ability to be domineering, authoritarian sado-masochists