Zach Wahls

Zach Wahls
Minority Leader of the Iowa Senate
In office November 15, 2020 – June 7, 2023
Preceded by	Janet Petersen
Succeeded by	Pam Jochum
Member of the Iowa Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Preceded by	Robert Dvorsky
Constituency	37th district (2019–2023) 43rd district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born	Zacharia Wahls (1991-07-15) July 15, 1991 (age 33) Marshfield, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Chloe Angyal (m. 2021)
Relatives	Terry Wahls (mother)
Education	University of Iowa (BA) Princeton University (MPA)

Zacharia Wahls (born July 15, 1991) is an Iowa state senator for the 43rd District, and American LGBTQ+ activist and author.

Early years

Zach Wahls is the son of two lesbian women and was conceived using artificial insemination. He was born on July 15, 1991, to his biological mother Terry Wahls, an internal medicine physician.^[1][2] He has a younger sister who shares the same sperm donor and parents.^[3] Terry met Jackie Reger in 1995 and the two held a commitment ceremony in 1996. Zach spent his childhood in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and moved when he was nine years old to Iowa City, Iowa.^[2] He was raised as a Unitarian Universalist and identifies himself as a member of that church.^[4]

He has said that having lesbian parents caused occasional problems during his school years when he found it difficult to explain to his peers or found that some of them were forbidden to socialize with him.^[2] He was sometimes teased and sometimes bullied because of his parents' relationship.^[5] In 2004, as an eighth grader (aged 12/13) and while watching the Republican National Convention on television, he first realized that there was political opposition to the sort of family in which he was raised.^[6] In high school, he wrote a series of columns for the school newspaper about being raised by a lesbian couple.^[1] He played quarterback on the football team and participated in speech and debate.^[7] He graduated from Iowa City West High School in 2009. He entered the University of Iowa that fall, withdrawing shortly thereafter to promote his book, written with the assistance of Bruce Littlefield.

While still a high school senior, following the Iowa Supreme Court decision in Varnum v. Brien that invalidated the state's ban on same-sex marriage, he wrote an op-ed piece in The Des Moines Register in which he advocated a complete separation of marriage from civil unions, calling for legislation "to completely remove government from the marriage process altogether, leaving a religious ceremony to religious institutions, and mak[ing] civil unions, accessible by any two people, including those of the same sex, the norm for legal benefits."^[8]

His mothers married in 2009 following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Iowa.^[3]

Before withdrawing from the University of Iowa,^[9] while a college freshman, Wahls started a small peer tutoring company, Iowa City Learns, that offers tutoring services to junior and high school students.^[10][11] At the University of Iowa he was a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). He also wrote a weekly column for The Daily Iowan, a daily student newspaper,^[12] and studied for a time in India.^[7]

He was, in his own words, "not much of an activist" before he went viral in 2011.^[13]

Activism

On January 31, 2011, Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa.^[14] A video of his testimony posted on YouTube went viral.^[7][15] It had more than 1.5 million views within two weeks^[12] and exceeded 15 million views by April 2012.^[16] The Economist described the hearing as "ineffectual conservative political theatre" and noted that "whatever it was Iowa House Republicans were trying to achieve, it certainly wasn't to offer a soapbox to Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old engineering student at the University of Iowa." It introduced the video of Wahls's testimony with the words "This is what it looks like to win an argument."^[17][18]

Asked to assess his role in LGBT activism, he said in April 2011: "We've been having this conversation for almost 20 years and the actors are all kinda stale. The kids of gay families bring a new face and a new argument to the table."^[2] Though he emphasizes the change in support for LGBT equality from one generation to the next, he has described the problematic attitudes of his peers: "Even my best friends that know and love my parents still toss around 'faggot' and 'gay' like it's not really a big deal. In some ways my generation is real accepting, but we still have this casual homophobia, racism and sexism."^[2] On another occasion in May 2012, he explained his identification with the LGBT community:^[19]

To be clear, I don't consider myself an ally. I might be [a] straight cisgender man, but in my mind, I am a member of the LGBT community. I know the last thing that anyone wants is to add another letter to the acronym, but we need to make sure as a movement we're making a place for what we call "queer-spawn" to function and to be part of the community. Because even though I'm not gay, I do know what it's like to be hated for who I am. And I do know what it's like to be in the closet, and like every other member of the LGBT community, I did not have a choice in this. I was born into this movement.

Wahls withdrew from the University of Iowa in the fall of 2011, turning his focus to writing a book with Bruce Littlefield, and promoting said book.^[20] His book, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family, published in April 2012, describes the mundane impact of growing up in a household headed by two lesbians, like learning to tie a necktie from Playboy.^[1][21] He has served as co-chair for "The Outspoken Generation," the Family Equality Council's national youth advocacy initiative involving the young adult children of LGBT parents.^[22][23] The Unitarian Universalist Association of Iowa City gave him its Courage of Love Award in April 2012.^[24]

Officials at Canisius College twice canceled appearances by Wahls, one sponsored by the school's gay-straight alliance in April 2012^[25] and another sponsored by the College Democrats in March 2013.^[26] He spoke there in April 2013 under the auspices of several academic departments, beginning his remarks by reading a statement on Catholic teaching on marriage and parenting as required by the school administration.^[27]

In May 2012, he led a group of advocates for LGBT causes in lobbying Congress in support of several pieces of legislation, including the Healthy Families Act, which would allow same-sex partners the same hospital visitation rights as married different-sex couples, and met with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.^[28]

An Eagle Scout, Wahls targeted the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) ban on gays and lesbians as scout leaders. On May 30, 2012, at the Boy Scouts' National Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, wearing his Boy Scout uniform, he delivered petitions with 275,000 signatures in support of equality in scouts. Jennifer Tyrrell, from Bridgeport, Ohio, who was forced to resign as a den mother because she is a lesbian, then met with two of the organization's board members. He told MSNBC's Thomas Roberts that the signatures included many current and former scouts and scout leaders because "there is tremendous support within the boy scout movement already to change this policy and bring it up to date in the 21st century." He reported that his own mothers had no problem when they participated in his boy scout activities,^[29][30] and even when one of his mothers became a den mother and the other served as interim pack leader.^[21] In June, as co-founder of the initiative, he launched Scouts for Equality to lobby for a change in the BSA's policies.^[31] The organization was dissolved on December 31, 2020 by the Board of Directors' unanimous vote.^[32]

In September, Wahls delivered a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in which he thanked President Obama for "put[ting] his political future on the line" in supporting same-sex marriage.^[33]

Wahls completed his degree at the University of Iowa in May 2016 and enrolled in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He was a delegate for Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.^[34]

Iowa Senate tenure

Wahls announced on December 21, 2017, that he would run in the 2018 election for Iowa Senate district 37. A member of the Democratic Party, Wahls stated that he would focus on the issues of healthcare, education, and workers' rights.^[35] Wahls traveled between New Jersey and Iowa City during his Iowa Senate campaign, changing his residence from Iowa City to Coralville immediately prior to announcing his bid for the Iowa Senate.^[35] He received his master's degree in public affairs from Princeton on June 5, 2018^[36] – the same day he won the primary election.^[37] He won the general election on November 6^[38] and was sworn in on January 14, 2019.^[39]

Wahls was elected by his Democratic colleagues to be Senate minority leader for the 2021 session after Janet Petersen retired as leader.^[40] He stepped down as Senate Minority Leader on June 7, 2023, following disagreement with Senate Democratic colleagues over firing two long-time Iowa Senate Democrat staff members.^[41]

Personal life

In 2019, Wahls announced his engagement to journalist Chloe Angyal.^[42] Angyal wrote an article in 2011 for the blog Feministing entitled "Marry Me, Zach Wahls" ^[43] which led to the two meeting and later starting a relationship.

On January 2, 2024, Wahls and Angyal announced they were expecting their first child in April.^[44]

Notes

1. Blotcher, Jay (April 27, 2012). "Book Review". Chronogram Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
2. Heidemann, Jason A. (April 20, 2011). "Zach Wahls". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
3. Goldwert, Lindsay (December 1, 2011). "Mamas' boy: Lesbian couple's son speech goes viral". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
4. Wahls, Zach (Winter 2011). "How my testimony went viral". UU World. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
5. Schlichenmeyer, Terri (June 4, 2012). "Iowa author of 'My Two Moms' shows love is love". Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
6. "Piers Morgan Tonight: Defending Gay Marriage". CNN. April 26, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
7. Forgrave, Reid (February 4, 2011). "Gay marriage defense on YouTube disrupts 'boring' life". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
8. Clayworth, Jason (February 2, 2011). "Marriage testimony at Iowa Capitol making one teen a YouTube star". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
9. McCammon, Sarah (September 6, 2012). "'My Two Moms' Author To Highlight Gay Rights At Convention". WBUR-FM. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
10. Heldt, Diane (October 13, 2009). "UI freshman creates peer tutoring company for high school students". The Gazette. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
11. "History". Iowa City Learns. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
12. Mowles, Jessica (February 18, 2011). "Six Questions with Zach Wahls, Who Defended His Moms in Iowa's Legislature". Campus Progress. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
13. Bell, Melissa (December 1, 2011). "Zach Wahls, Iowa student with two moms, discusses life post-viral success (Video)". The Washington Post.
14. "Transcript of testimony". Zach Wahls. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
15. Hoffer, Steven (February 2, 2011). "Zach Wahls' Iowa Speech for Gay Marriage Goes Viral". AOL News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
16. Wahls, Zach (May 1, 2012). "Iowa Student Zach Wahls: Why I'm Defending My Two Moms". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
17. "The Iowa House v Zach Wahls and his moms". The Economist. February 4, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
18. "The fallacy of careless contrarianism". The Economist. February 8, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
19. Reese, Phil (May 23, 2012). "'That kid from YouTube'". Washington Blade. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
20. Duggan Lyons, Joseph (May 31, 2012). "Iowa's Zach Wahls on activism, social media and marriage". Chicago Phoenix. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
21. Martin, Michel (May 8, 2012). "When The Political Becomes Very Personal". NPR. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
22. "Zach Wahls To Co-Chair 'Outspoken Generation,' Gay Parents' Initiative For Adult Children, With Ella Robinson". HuffPost. April 6, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
23. Geidner, Chris (May 15, 2012). "Proud Son". Metro Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
24. "Unitarians to honor Zach Wahls". Iowa City Press-Citizen. April 17, 2012.
25. Hartinger, Jeffrey (April 20, 2012). "How the Jesuits Dance With LGBT Students". The Advocate. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
26. Gorczyca, Matt (March 8, 2013). "Wahls lecture a no-go again". Canisius Griffin. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
27. Brooks, Amy (April 19, 2013). "Wahls Finally Welcomed". Canisius Griffin. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
28. Edwards, Julia (May 30, 2012). "Activist With 2 Moms Hits Hill for Gay Rights". National Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
29. "Zach Wahls, Kat Graham Petition Boy Scouts Of America On Ousted Lesbian Den Mom's Behalf". HuffPost. May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
30. Liston, Barbara (May 30, 2012). "Scout challenges anti-gay policy of Boy Scouts of America". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
31. Nelson, Laura J. (June 7, 2012). "Eagle Scouts to pressure Boy Scouts' ban on gay members, leaders". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
32. Scouts for Equality - Timeline - https://www.scoutsforequality.org/timeline/
33. Henderson, O. Kay (September 6, 2012). "Iowan, at convention: 'Mr. Romney, my family is just as real as yours'". Radio Iowa. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
34. Biddix, Monica (May 6, 2016). "2016 District Convention National Delegates Election Results". Iowa Democratic Party. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016.
35. Davis, Andy (December 21, 2017). "Zach Wahls announces bid for Dvorsky's Iowa Senate seat". Iowa City Press-Citizen.
36. "The Two Hundred Seventy-First Commencement" (PDF). Princeton University. June 5, 2018.
37. Siu, Benjamin (June 6, 2018). "As a teen, Zach Wahls once spoke out for marriage equality. He could now become one of Iowa's youngest state lawmakers". ABC News.
38. Mitchell, Andy (November 6, 2018). "Win for Zach Wahls in Iowa Senate race". The Daily Iowan.
39. "Zach Wahls sworn into Iowa Senate". Wilton-Durant Advocate News. January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
40. Lynch, James Q. "First-term legislator Zach Wahls to lead Iowa Senate Democrats". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
41. Gruber-Miller, Stephen; Pfannenstiel, Brianne (12 June 2023). "Sen. Zach Wahls says he was ousted from Democratic leadership role for restructuring staff". Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
42. Calvin, Aaron. "After storybook romance, Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls and journalist Chloe Angyal announce their engagement". The Des Moines Register.
43. Angyal, Chloe (3 February 2011). "Marry me, Zach Wahls". Feministing.
44. "Threads". www.threads.net.

External links

• Zach Wahls Speaks About Family, February 3, 2011 on YouTube
• Zach Wahls Homepage

Iowa Senate
Preceded by Janet Petersen	Minority Leader of the Iowa Senate 2021–2023	Succeeded by Pam Jochum