Zach Wahls had no idea he would become an overnight celebrity when he presented his testimony on being raised by two lesbian mothers to support an Iowa marriage equality bill in January 2011, but it has since sparked a successful writing and speaking career.
The YouTube video of Wahls testimony went viral within a matter of days and now has over 18 million hits. He has made appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, MSNBC, CNN, Good Morning America and Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. He will be speaking at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Yellowstone Ballroom as the Keynote Speaker for the Shepard Symposium.
The three minute speech that launched him into the public eye started simply enough. “Good evening, Mr. Chairman. My name is Zach Wahls. I’m a sixth generation Iowan and an engineering student at the University of Iowa, and I was raised by two women.”
What came next was a short soliloquy on the normalcy of his life. He was an Eagle Scout, scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT and owned his own small business. He also talked about the trials his family faced when his mother, Terry, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000.
“Not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple.” he told those in attendance. “The sexuality of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.”
In his book, “My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family,” Wahls describes his life as ordinary. His family went to church, ate regular family dinners, fought with each other and went through hard times.
Family is important to Wahls. He and his younger sister were conceived through artificial insemination. They kept the same donor, according to his book, so they are full siblings.
Wahls writes that, besides the obvious differences, his family is just like everybody else’s with a few minor exceptions.
“I learned how to shave from my best friend’s dad and how to tie a tie from an article in Playboy,” he writes.
Wahls was invited to speak at the Shepard Symposium last year, Dr. Angela Jamie said, but he had timing conflicts and was unable to come. But he was interested in visiting the university, she said, so she contacted him last October and made the arrangements for him to take part in the symposium this year.
With the paperback release of his book and marriage equality the hot topic it is, now is a perfect time for Wahls to come to the university, Jamie said.
