Lee Trask
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Lee Trask is an advocate for women dealing with issues of infertility and miscarriage. Having struggled through more than six years of infertility, three miscarriages, and high-risk pregnancy, she is now happy raising her two…
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Zach Wahls Speech: Moving the Nation in Support for Gay Marriage
47
Posted in Gay Parenting by Lee Trask on Dec 05, 2011
Please watch this clip of Zach Wahls, giving a speech to the Iowa Senate, opposing a House Joint Resolution that would ban gay marriage.

The last line of this young man’s speech is absolutely wrong. “{T}he sexual orientation of my parents has had ZERO effect on the content of my character.”

This is a nineteen year old, who is speaking before the Iowa legislature, without a teleprompter, cue cards or notes written on the palm of his hand (cough, Palin). He is poised, well spoken: a gifted orator. He gives a few statistics about himself: Engineering student, scored in the 99th percentile on his ACT, owns and runs his own small business, was an Eagle Scout. He is giving an impassioned speech about family, and about the Iowa law in relation to same sex marriage. I was riveted to this clip; thinking about what a fine young man this is standing there, unafraid, putting himself, his sister, and the two women who raised him, in the public eye for scrutiny.

Here is where the last line of his speech strikes me: I believe the content of his character has everything to do with the sexual orientation of his parents. His parents are two brave women who; knowing their own families might not embrace their unborn child, went ahead and started a same sex family together, in the Bible Belt. These are two women who; I’m sure, faced bigotry, resistance, and ignorance, but taught their son not only to suffer it, but also stand up against it. These women, so sure of who they are at their core, raised a boy with the same confidence in himself, and with a belief that if you speak out, you can change the world.

Same sex marriage is changing how we see families; and like the Civil Rights Movement, will only be truly successful when the last generation that clings to their bigotry has perished. But, to the many same sex couples here on DailyStrength; who are undergoing IVF, surrogacy, or adoption the good news is that there is a generation coming up that has been raised by same sex parents. This generation, will be the first that finds no difference in the way they were raised, and the way I was raised (by a mom and dad.) My sons, who are 6 and 9, think it is perfectly normal to have two moms or two dads, and you know what? They are absolutely right.

- Lee


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Displaying comments 47-28 of 47
47
Yes, it's deteriorated into a completely meaningless exchange. My original posts were an attempt to express my view on the subject and to challenge views I found to be invalid. At this point I have no expectation that you will defend your opinion, which leads me to wonder why you chose to express it here in the first place.
By Spiky  Dec 13, 2011
46
Isn't it funny how we're the only ones here and even interested in this article just for the sole purpose of mocking one another in the comment section? LOL guess you're as much a troll as I am.
By darinlunderman  Dec 13, 2011
45
Your transparent avoidance tactics are so repetitive and predictable they've become boring. It's like gawking at a train wreck, though -- I'm strangely compelled to wait for you to start making sense.
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
44
Yeah, keep amusing me, it makes you look really smart.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
43
Your fatuous statements are a poor smokescreen for a lack of anything relevant to say.
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
42
That's actually funny because I'm not the one being pulled by the strings.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
41
There's nothing to figure out. You have no rational explanations for your thought process. I'm just amused by the incoherency of your output.
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
40
I love how you continue to troll up this board trying to figure me out...or wait...do I have to explain why I like that with logic and reasoning or are you going to keep guessing all day?
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
39
I love how you continue to make these claims without backing a single one of them with logic or reason. I invite you to demonstrate that I have a bias toward LGBT people (of which you are one, btw). I assert that I don't prefer one sexual orientation over another. But I'm sure you can disprove that, right?
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
38
Ironic how you seem to be aware of the definition but you fall prey to it yourself.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
37
Is that so?
"inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection" (definition of the word "bias")
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
36
You just made that up out of your arse but okay.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
35
Bias indicates an inclination. I don't have an inclination; both gay and straight people should be treated equally under the law. Bias is exemplified by a preference, as in people who believe that only straight people deserve the privilege of legal marriage. Check your terms.
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
34
I'm not going to play your game if you're having trouble figuring that out.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
33
Here's a better question, instead of me going through the trouble of explaining my position why don't you just fess up that you're biased towards the LGBT community?
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
32
Tell me what I've said that was "heterophobic".
Name one generalization I've made about life. (Here's an example of a generalization if you're having trouble: "gay marriage is just wrong")
Explain to me how I, as a person, can be "a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice" (Oxford definition of the word "taboo").
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
31
Which is exactly why you're just another taboo pro-homosexual person, it's really no wonder why LGBT people aren't taken seriously because of people like you and your generalizations about life.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
30
From what I've read from your responses you must be heterophobic.
By darinlunderman  Dec 12, 2011
29
I haven't argued with you at all. I've only asked how a bisexual person can believe same-sex marriage is "just wrong". You've continued to avoid responding, so unless you can come up with a reason I can only conclude your opinion is baseless.
By Spiky  Dec 12, 2011
28
The only "argument" you've given me so far has been nonsense so why should I be serious when you're not?
By darinlunderman  Dec 11, 2011
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