Zach Wahls has become an overnight sensation with his viral YouTube video speaking out for LGBT rights in Iowa and about his lesbian mothers.
Ferris State recently had the privilege of having Wahls come to speak about LGBT issues, issues that are in need to be addressed on campus to ensure a community of equality and tolerance.
In Iowa, same-sex marriage is legal. However, a Republican movement in the state legislature to change that motivated Wahls to testify before the state on behalf of his family. Against the attacks on same-sex couples’ ability to raise children, Wahls presented himself as evidence to the contrary.
Wahls has no problem with the fact he has two mothers and argues that same-sex couples do nothing to harm the well-being of the child they raise.
When asked if he ever had a desire to meet his biological father, he responded, “To me, my father has always been donor 1033. I don’t know him; I don’t really care to know him. What makes my family is the emotional connection with the people who raised me.”
“The gay marriage debate in this country is not a logical debate,” Wahls said. “We need to get away from just insulting each other. I hear people throwing around terms like ‘bigoted redneck idiots’ or ‘godless sodomites.’”
“I don’t have a problem with people who have beliefs against homosexuality,” Wahls said. “But when your beliefs infringe on my personal beliefs, we have a problem. If you’re going to walk into a ballot box and vote to strip your fellow Americans of their rights, you owe it to them to do your research and you’d better have a damn good reason for doing so.”
“It’s easy to talk about these faceless sex-obsessed homosexuals,” Wahls said. “But when you actually know an LGBT person it’s much harder to advocate discrimination against them.”
Wahls argued that things are getting better for the LGBT community, pointing out that an 18 year old in Alabama is more likely to support gay marriage than a 65 year old in Massachusetts.
“Zach Wahls was awesome,” Sarah Walters, FSU sophomore in medical technology, said. “If you think logically you’ll end up agreeing with him on marriage equality.”
“He was great,” added Rachel, a senior in English. “He made it very personal and helps give a face to the whole issue.”
Speakers like Wahls discuss issues in society that often cause debate and controversy.