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>> In early 2011
Zach Wahls stood up for marriage equality in Iowa
when he delivered a powerful speech
in front of the legislature.
>> For the next two hours
I'm sure we're going to hear
plenty of testimony about how damaging
having gay parents is on kids,
but in my nineteen years, not once
have I ever been confronted by an individual
who realized independently
that I was raised by a gay couple.
And do you know why?
Because the *** orientation of my parents
has had zero effect
on the content of my character.
Thank you very much.
>> His testimony went viral
with millions of hits
and landed him in the media spotlight.
>> To find myself kind of
at the center of all this attention
was a very...
It was a little unnerving, um, at first,
but after I calmed down
I was immediately aware
of the power, really, of the story.
>> To further the impact of his story,
Zach is now releasing a book about
growing up with lesbian parents called
My Two Moms: Lessons of Love,
Strength, and What Makes a Family
>> I write very intimately
about some of the struggles
that my family went through,
the challenges my moms faced,
and how we all grew from that.
My parents may have been gay,
but they weren't 'my gay moms'.
They were my moms.
My hope for the book above all else
is to really show people,
that this is just a portrait
of another American family
that's just as valid as any other
American family.
We eat dinner around a table.
We watch NFL games
and cheer for the Packers.
And so this, you know, notion
that there's something radical
or scary, or dangerous
about gay people raising kids is...
(laughs)
You know it's really laughable
if you sit down and you think about it.
It turns out that the operative word in
'gay parents' is not 'gay' but 'parents'.
What's important when you're raising kids
is whether or not your parent or parents
are willing to put in the blood,
sweat, toil and tears
or the time and the resources
and the effort that it takes
to shape these little hellions
into well-adjusted young adults.
My hope with the book is
to paint a portrait of a family
led by a gay couple
and to really try to examine
what that looks like.
People who are, maybe,
on the other side might be surprised
by what they see.
Love makes a family.