University of Iowa’s own Zach Wahls

19-year-old Zach Wahls became an overnight sensation last month, popping up on news wires before he’d even realized his impact.
The University of Iowa engineering student gave a rousing speech on Feb. 1 in support of same-sex marriage at the state capitol.  The West High School graduate spoke in opposition to House Joint Resolution 6, a constitutional amendment to end same-sex marriages statewide.  Not many UI students get the chance to speak to the Iowa Legislature; however that was just the first moment in the spotlight for Wahls.
“I haven’t had a regular week in quite some time,” he said.  “I can’t even remember what an average week is like anymore.”
Wahls is the son of a married lesbian couple, Terry Wahls and Jacqueline Reger, living in Iowa City.  He has a younger sister Zebby who attends high school.  Wahls has written op-ed pieces for the Des Moines Register and The Daily Iowan advocating for marriage equality. 
One Iowa, the state’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender advocacy group, offered him the fourth overall speech slot for what became two and a half hours of testimony on both sides of the issue.  He spent the drive out to Des Moines practicing his speech, which you can check out here. 
Wahls stands tall as he addresses the chairman and eloquently delivers his opinion.  His remarks highlighted his growth and school years, finishing by saying “the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero affect on the content of my character.”   
“I did speech and debate in high school and…I’d written about my family before,” said Wahls.  “But I’d never spoken about them in so public a setting.”
He did not realize that his speech had “gone viral” until a co-worker told him that he was all over Facebook and had received thousands of hits on Youtube.  Soon he was receiving phone calls and e-mails from various news outlets, including the Ellen Degeneres Show and MSNBC.  He eventually found himself granting interviews all over the country while remaining a full-time student at the UI.
Wahls was originally scheduled to work the day of the public hearing when he got an e-mail from One Iowa asking for people to attend.
“My initial thought was…it would be really cool, but I’m supposed to be working,” said Wahls.  “But my mom, Terry [Wahls] always told me that you have to stand up for what you believe in…and the more I thought about it the more I realized I had to say something.”
Since speaking, his family has been thrust into the public eye and Wahls himself has become the poster child for marriage equality across the country.  Wahls thinks it is important that he continues to get their story out so people will have a chance to get new perspective on the issue.
“I remember this poster [from school] that said ‘What’s popular isn’t always right and what’s right isn’t always popular,” said Wahls.  “I think that it’s really easy once you have a right to take it for granted and we forget that old tired and true cliché that ‘freedom isn’t free.’”      
Wahls’ political advocacy is not limited to the gay marriage issue.  On campus he also lends his activist personality to environmental issues. 
“I think marriage equality will be the defining civil rights issue for the generation above us,” said Wahls.  “But I think for [our generation] the defining…issue will be the environment and whether or not we can decide that access to natural resources is an American right.”
Wahls spends a great deal of time outdoors.  When nice weather hits you can often find him tossing a Frisbee around with friends on campus.  He also spends a great deal of time camping, backpacking and mountain biking with his mom, Reger, an avid mountain biker.
The impact on Wahls’ life has been enormous, but the public awareness aspect is what he values most about the experience.  Right after his speech, Wahls received a message from a soldier who was about to be deployed to Afghanistan that showed Wahls the difference he had made.
“His message said ‘Hey, you know man, I was raised in the deep south, anti-gay’ and…he said that watching my testimony changed that,’” said Wahls.  “You know it’s cool to think that Ellen Degeneres, Perez Hilton and Ashton Kutcher all know who I am, but it’s a lot cooler to me to know that I really made a difference.”