By Kristine Milbrandt

Zach Wahls, who was raised by a lesbian couple, will talk about his upbringing as part of Wartburg Alliance’s Gayla Week.

Wahls will speak at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 21 in WBC 214 (Buckmaster Room). He gained national attention in January 2011 when argued before the Iowa Legislature against a proposed constitutional amendment to make gay marriage illegal.

Cassandra Hales, Wartburg residence hall director, is coordinating the event with Wartburg Alliance. She said Wahls’ speech, “What Makes a Family,” will detail his experience growing up with two mothers, and how it has made him the person he is today.

“I hope that students can learn a greater understanding for same-sex couples and understand that their families are just the same as everyone else’s,” Hales said.

Wahls, a University of Iowa engineering student who was 19 at the time, gave an impassioned speech defending the union of his two mothers and his upbringing. A YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMLZO-sObzQ) of his testimony quickly went viral and thrust Wahls into the spotlight as a national advocate for gay marriage.

His parents, Dr. Terry Wahls and Jacqueline Reger, were married in 2009 after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.  

“In my 19 years, not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple,” Wahls told the Iowa House of Representatives. “And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.”

Wahls continues to gain notice worldwide with more than 16 million views of his YouTube video to date. He has appeared on “The Ellen Degeneres Show” and MSNBC. Currently, he is traveling the United States and speaking at events to promote support of same-sex marriages and parenting.

“I had no idea the words I was about to speak would resonate,” Wahls said in a July 2011 YouTube video response. “I had no idea the amount of support I would receive.”

“I hope that students can learn a greater understanding for same-sex couples and understand that their families are just the same as everyone else’s,” Hales said.           

Gayla Week will conclude with the Annual Drag Show on Saturday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium. Admission is $2 for Wartburg students and $5 for community members.