My name is Mitch Gross, and as a teacher of government and American history at Iowa City West High School, I still remember Zach as a student, before he gave his now-famous speech to the Iowa legislature about his two moms.
From ABC News- The latest Internet hero is Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa engineering student and Eagle Scout whose parents are lesbians. Wahls gave a three-minute speech Tuesday before Iowa legislators urging them not to pass a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and civil unions.Feb 3, 2011.
He was thoughtful, listened carefully in class, supported his classmates, and worked hard. A few years after he graduated, I watched the video of his short speech to the Iowa legislature about growing up with lesbian parents here in Iowa. In the aftermath of his speech, I helped support him as he navigated the incredible amount of attention he gained and responsibility he shouldered after the video went viral.
I watched, and assisted where necessary, as he took up the cause of marriage equality here in Iowa, and LGBT rights across the country. He's an Eagle Scout, and he co-founded Scouts for Equality, an organization of former Scouts that led the fight to end discrimination against LGBT people in the Boy Scouts of America.
But along the way, he never forgot where he came from. He was always willing to meet with students and young people in our area to remind them about the importance of treating all people with respect, including at our high school and at the University of Iowa.
Today, my wife Melanie and I are proud to serve as co-chairs of his campaign for the Iowa Senate. Zach has huge shoes to fill — retiring Iowa State Senator Bob Dvorsky has been a tireless champion for our community. I know Zach is up to the challenge.
Healthcare, education, and workers' rights are under attack here in Iowa, and we need somebody like Zach who can stand up and speak truth to power. Even though it feels like it was just yesterday that he was a student in my U.S. History class, he already has a strong track record of leadership and doing the right thing. My wife and I are co-chairing his campaign because we know he'll bring people together to fight for the values we all share, and I hope you'll join us in supporting him. Every pledge you make now means more doors we can knock, letters we can send, and calls we can make.
Thank you for your support!
Zachs Wahls for IA, State Senate, 37th District, 2018 Primary Election
This is a post on Crowdpac. Zach is seeking to raise $20,000. So far he has raised
$18,119
From 383 donations on Crowdpac. Give what you can. He is the future of our country
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December 22, 2017
Post Script. You may remember that Zach wrote for Voices4Hillary during the 2016 campaign.
Why I'm Supporting Hillary Clinton by Zach Wahl
On the evening of Monday February 1, 2016, citizens all across my state packed into elementary school gyms and recreation centers — and yes, into farmhouses — for the Iowa caucuses. I joined tens of thousands of my fellow Iowans in caucusing for Hillary Clinton. With her campaign, she's clearly demonstrated that she will fight to protect and build on the progress we've made, be an advocate for families like mine, and provide progressive leadership in a time of domestic and international challenges.
Iowa Democrats take the caucuses seriously, and we have a pretty good record when it comes to launching the candidacies of would-be presidential nominees. (Our Republican friends, not as much.) Most of us had the chance to listen to candidates give speeches in person, and our airwaves, radio broadcasts, and even our billboards were flooded with political ads for months already. We give our decisions a lot of thought. That is why I caucused for Hillary in February, and why I am supporting her now, for the General Election.
Casting your lot in the political process is an incredibly personal decision driven by what is most important in your life. For me, that's family. When I was nineteen, Republicans in Iowa tried to reverse the 2009 Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in our state. I spoke out against that proposed amendment at a public hearing in Des Moines. I talked about my family and how much marriage equality has meant to my two moms, Terry and Jackie. We beat that amendment, and for the last five and a half years, I've spent my life day in and day out advocating on behalf of LGBTQ people and families like mine.
The Republican Party is unified in its opposition to same-sex marriage, its refusal to prevent employment or housing discrimination, and its dedication to appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn the Obergefell decision. Even their oft-obstreperous presumptive Presidential candidate has fallen in line on these issues, and we will likely see them engraved in the forthcoming platform of the Republican Convention. The important gains we've seen for transgender people from both the EEOC and the Pentagon could easily be washed away during a Republican administration. Losing the Presidency could prove catastrophic for the LGBTQ community. Not only would a Republican president bring our progress to a halt, he could actively undermine the gains we've made.
It's easy — especially for straight allies — to think that with marriage equality as the law of the land that our fight is over. The fight is not over. Hillary Clinton understands just how much work there is left to do, from continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS to continuing to expand protections for trans people. That's why as the proud son of two loving mothers, and as a young man deeply invested in the future of this country, I'm supporting her for President of the United States of America.
We need a president who is going to affirm that families like mine have a place in society and affirm the inherent worth and dignity and rights of all LGBTQ people. Hillary did that as Secretary of State when she declared that "gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights," and she has continued to do that in this campaign. Just last week, she made history as the first presumptive nominee of a major party to march in a Gay Pride Parade. She marched
In New York's Pride Parade, as she had done, when First Lady, in 2000.
In my 2011 speech at that hearing in Des Moines, I said that despite the challenges my family had faced, "We're Iowans — we don't expect anyone to solve our problems for us. We'll fight our own battles. We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government." I know that Hillary will fight for that same equal treatment for all people and all families. Sons and daughters of loving parents, queer and straight alike, are counting on her. We couldn't have a better fighter in our corner, and I can't wait to see what she will do as President.