One brave college student took on the Iowa House of Representatives over what's going on in his own house. Republicans in the Hawkeye State voted to ban gay marriage, even after hearing the moving statement from 19-year-old Zach Wahls who stood up in praise of his two mothers that raised him.
Zach Wahls and one of his moms will join us tomorrow exclusively here on The Last Word to talk about their family's fight for marriage equality.
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An incredible young man...I'd be proud to have him as my son.
SO eloquent. Even if I didn't agree with his message, I would seriously consider voting for him as a representative if for no other reason than he sincerely believes in something (other than poll numbers and keeping lobbyist money flowing.) How can I convince Mr. Wahls to move to New Mexico? There are a slew of pathetic "politicians" (term used loosely) he could run circles around out here! People like him make me think that there may just be a future for this country.
Brought me to tears. Looking forward to the interview tomorrow night.
I am a "straight" mom of two teenage boys. I hope that my children grow up to be as thoughtful, eloquent and well-adjusted as he is. Sir, you couldn't have done it better.
Looking forward to the interview tomorrow.
Makes me very proud to be an Iowan. I also have two daughters who are University of Iowa graduates in their 20's. Like Zach they are brave, intelligent, accomplished products of Iowa....and of an Iowa gay parent.
I was so moved by this young mans speach ,i wanted to jump out of my recliner and give him a big hug am looking foward to his inteview tomorrow .his moms must be so proud of him great parenting
I'm not an Iowan but I have respect for this eloquent speech by this young man.
I'm interested in Iowa: my niece and her longtime partner were married under that new law in Iowa. These two women have raised two intelligent, productive, and fine young men. Their family is as positive as any family with heterosexual parents. My Iowa family contributes much to the overall well-being of all Iowans.
I am so proud of this young man. I would be proud to call him my son. I am a lesbian and my child hates it so for her sake I remain celibate. It hurts me and I've had relationships I had to keep secret or risk losing her so to see this young man so proud of his moms gives me hope. Thank you for your beautiful testimony.
Most of my relatives are from Iowa and I am an outcast. Forbidden to even speak to my cousins for fear I may rub off on them. I pray this opens the eyes of some very closed minded people.
That is one great kid.
Fantastic young man. He makes the situation very obvious.
Why is same-sex marriage not a religion? The United States constitution says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;".
- A: Write a short prayer book with marital vows "I now pronounce you ..." and draw up the corporate documents needed to establish a church
- B: Register "Church of Everlasting Marital Freedom" with the IRS
- C: Issue a challenges for same-sex prohibition as a first amendment violation
The only argument against this involves the Bible.
Actually the original Bible never says anything about homosexuality being wrong, the reason there is such a mixup about this is because english translators were forced to use the word "homosexual" because they could not find a shorter way to explain,prostitutes who prostiute themselves to the same sex (to show its still sexual immorality no matter what sex). The Bible in it's ORIGINAL text however, never stated a woman and a woman couldn't love eachother and a man and a man can't love eachother. Love is something God created, and marriage he created for the joining of two hearts to become one.
As a mother of 4 sons, 2 of which are gay. I was proud to be and Iowan when same sex marriage was passed in our progressive state. How disappointing it is to me to see people who are ignorant and uninformed on the subject deny those who just want = rights. Perhaps we need to stop interracial marriage and while we are at it, take the right to vote away from women! It is not our place to vote/judge who can love whom. Let Gay marriage thrive and survive in Iowa! Let IOWA be the positive example for gay marriage to the rest of the country.
Proud of ALL my sons!
First let me say i went to school with zach wahls and though i didn't know him well, i had many interactions with him and let me just say that I had no idea he was raised by two women. He just seemed like a really nice kid who i looked up to.
@ Mr. Crackhead
Though you're right there are such loopholes in the system that could be exploited, the thing that i think this movement for rights should never forget is that people who want to marry others of the same sex should not have to go searching for loopholes. If heterosexual couples don't have to go through round-about methods for gaining legal marriage, neither should homosexual ones. As soon as we allow the movement to "settle" for options such as the above proposed, real progress will not be made. Though marriage may be achieved, homosexuals will still be looked upon as second-class citizens who settled for second-class rights.
This young man did an excellent job in such a short time. I am proud to live in Iowa and hope this state chooses to support equality and does not vote for an amendment that denies people the right to marry. There are a number of Iowans who support gay marriage. Kudos to Zach and his parents.
I am a state legislator in Iowa and Zach's former teacher. I have never been so proud of one of my students. Zach has an incredible family and a great future ahead of him. Same sex couples across this nation should know that their families are valued and some day they will be allowd to marry in all states. Zach's generation will guarantee that. We are fighting to maintain that right in Iowa.
Mary, I don't know you but I agree with you on being proud of Mr. Wahl. He represented himself and others with that background as well as anyone I have ever heard and better than most. It is with this in mind that I have to ask: How can your fellow legislators sleep at night? The magnitude of their self absorption is staggering. To vote against him after that, clearly demonstrates the nature of their character. It is they who are morally bankrupt and they who a just society needs to be protected against. Please let us know how we can help defeat their re-election bids. I am sure that many of those who are not from Iowa but who were moved by Mr. Wahls comments would do whatever we can to see that those legislators who voted against him are removed from office. I am happy to post info on my blog if you like: cure4apathy.com
I am in no way associated with the group, but I do contribute to them. OneIowa.org is our state group that is leading the charge in Iowa and can use every dollar sent their way.
So moving, and we Iowans couldn't be prouder of Zach. I'm delighted for all the attention his speech had put on this issue. If we changed even one mind, I'll consider it a success.
Lawrence, you are brilliant. A joy to watch and hear.
Richard Rhodes
San Francisco, CA
I am not a political person - I'm an Independent, have voted both Republican and Democrat but have to say comparing the remarks espoused by the Representative, the product of a heterosexual couple, with the eloquent and articulate speech by the 19 yr old, speaks for itself. His mothers must be proud. I think there are many married couples (man and woman) who could take a lesson from these two mothers on raising children. I hope the voters in Iowa listen before voting the next time!
I am an Iowan, and I am very proud of Zach. He very eloquently and passionately stated the obvious. Kids who have loving, involved parents, whether they are gay, straight, single, married, or whatever, will turn out fine. His parents' marriage doesn't impact my heterosexual marriage at all, and it isn't gender, age, or race or even blood ties that make a family, it is love, compassion, and shared values that unite us.
I can't believe the Iowa legislature is so narrow-minded and discriminatory, and the action of those elected officials shame us all. I am perfectly fine with an individual's right to believe whatever they want to. But no one has the right to force their belief on anyone else, or to base laws on their religious beliefs. There is a reason why we have a separation of church and state in our Constitution.
I find it ironic that those same people who whine about the government being involved in health care, or taking over too much of our lives, are the same people who want government to interfere with who we should love, who we can marry, and a woman's reproductive decisions.
Hang in there Zach...there are a lot of us who support you !
It was wonderful to see Zach on your show, and again on this posting. My marriage is heterosexual, but I stand against efforts to keep full protection of the law from anyone. To think there are those who would deprive persons like Zach from a family upbringing of the quality he enjoyed...And do it by placing discrimination into the Iowa Constitution. Thanks for covering Zach and the struggle in Iowa.
It was wonderful to see Zach on your show, and again on this posting. My marriage is heterozexual, but I stand against efforts to keep full protection of the law from anyone. To think there are those who would deprive persons like Zach from a family upbringing of the quality he enjoyed.---and attempt it by writing discrimination into our Iowa Constitution. Thanks for covering Zach and our struggle for equality of all persons in Iowa.
Here is why sexual egalitarianism will come to America. There are too many children being raised by gays and lesbians who have their heads screwed on straight to prevent it from happening. Everyone who says that gays and lesbians can't be good parents has to argue against a growing population of people who are proof to the contrary. And often the ones making those arguments tend to be quite twisted themselves, witness George Reikers.
I agree with Zach, LOVE is what makes a family. Some of our politicians would best serve us in churches, as preachers. Religious beliefs are personal and have no place in our government, and to force their belief in our daily lives is an invasion of our constitutional rights. Where is the separation of church and state? Zach, I'm proud of you as an American citizen, your generation gives me hope for our future.
BRAVO! Said it better than anyone I've ever heard.
I agree with Zach, LOVE does make a family. Some of our politicians would best serve us in our churches, as preachers. Our religious beliefs are personal and have no place in our government, and to do otherwise is a violation of our constitutional rights. Where is the separation of church and state? I'm proud of Zach as an American citizen, and he gives me hope in our future.
Wow - It is immediately obvious how damaged he is by having gay parents.
But wait - he doesn't even exist - everyone knows gay couples are incapable of having children...
I give you 0/10 for the troll, unless of course you are just being sarcastic. But i don't think this is the place for Sarcasm. What he did was Brave, Strong and Necessary. His speech was perfect, as his statements were well thought and phrased well. If you want to be against marriage equality, fine. But i recommend you look at how pathetic our current marriage system is, in terms of divorce, physical and emotional abuse, and child abuse before you make "jokes" about a couple who more than cared enough to raise this person to be able to share his views with such eloquence.
This is clearly not a troll nor is the sarcasm directed towards this this child, his parents or the gay community. Please take the time to understand a comment before you tear it apart. The poster of this comment is clearly only making a rhetorical observation about the illogical counterpoint presented by Representative Rick Anderson. If you do not understand it please refrain from making an argument about it.