Zach Wahls: Mr. Romney, My Family Is As Real As Yours

Zach Wahls

Activist Zach Wahls addressed the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, remembering watching the 2004 Republican National Convention.

"I remember politicians talking about protecting marriage from families like mine," he recalled. "Now, supporting a view of marriage as between a man and woman isn't radical. For many people, it's a matter of faith. We respect that. Watching that convention on TV, though I felt confused, frustrated. Why didn't they think my family was a real family?"

Wahls, a 20-year-old student, became an overnight sensation shortly after addressing Iowa lawmakers, seeking to limit marriage equality rights for same-sex couples like his two mothers Jackie and Terry. Wahls said that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney continue the rhetoric.

"Governor Romney says he's against same-sex marriage because every child deserves a mother and a father," Wahls said. "I think every child deserves a family as loving and committed as mine. Because the sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other to work through the hard times so we can enjoy the good ones. It comes from the love that binds us; that's what makes a family. Mr. Romney, my family is just as real as yours."

Read the full speech on the next page.