LYNDON CENTER — A young man whose 2011 address to the Iowa House of Representatives on being raised by lesbian parents went viral on YouTube and sparked a debate about the effects of homosexual parenting will speak at Lyndon State College this week.
Zach Wahls, whose book “My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family,” was published in 2012, will deliver a free talk “What Makes a Family” at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Moore Community Room/Academic and Student Activity Center.
In his speech to the Iowa lawmakers, Wahls said “the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.” The video received more than 18 million views on YouTube and landed him on John Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and “Ellen.”
Wahls travels the country talking to many different audiences about his self-described “rather boring” experience growing up with two lesbian mothers, why the struggle for LGBTQ rights is so important, and where he thinks the fight goes from here. He works with a number of different LGBTQ rights groups in a consulting role and continues to work on protecting and advancing those rights at home in Iowa, according to a news release from Lyndon.
