Obama's Gay Marriage Nod Left Zach Wahls Emotional
- By
- On Top Magazine Staff
- | July 25, 2012
Gay rights activist Zach Wahls has said that President Barack Obama's gay marriage endorsement left him emotional.
Wahls is the University of Iowa student who defended his two-mom family at an Iowa House hearing considering a proposed measure which would repeal the state's gay marriage law by defining marriage as a heterosexual union in the Iowa Constitution. A video of Wahls' testimony attracted more than 18.3 million views to become the most-watched video in 2011.
In a new video for the Obama campaign, Wahls discusses getting emotional over the news.
“The president announcing his support, it was a beautiful day,” Wahls said. “You know, I'm not a particularly emotional guy but I started getting choked up and I couldn't believe it. And then, I called my mom, Terry, and she answered the phone and I asked, 'Did you hear about the president?' And she said, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'President Obama just endorsed same-sex marriage.' And she says, 'Are you kidding?' And I can hear her go silent for a minute and then she starts getting emotional, too.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)