'My Two Moms' author urges acceptance of LGBT youths

To LGBT youths, Zach Wahls said "You are not alone" and "You are OK."

The nationally known gay rights advocate and author of New York Times best seller "My Two Moms" sought to reassure the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths who helped pack the Nixa High School auditorium Monday night. But much of his message was targeted at the family, friends, teachers and community members he hopes will become a support system for those youths.

"A lot of people will try to tell you it isn't a school's job or it isn't the government's job to advocate for LGBT rights. A lot of people will try to tell you that because they're defective, being LGBT is a choice, we don't have to protect them — they can just choose away that part of who they are," Wahls told a crowd of at least 250. "They don't see it as an identity."

Standing alone at a podium in a hushed auditorium, Wahls acknowledged not everyone will agree with his statements. But, he urged those within earshot to advocate for the "worth and inherent dignity" of all people.

"What is critically important that we do is we accept LGBT students and people for who they are," he said.

Wahls offered a string of statistics to show that LGBT youths who experience a high level of rejection from family, friends and community members are more likely to attempt suicide, experience mental health issues including depression, experiment with illegal drugs and contract sexually transmitted diseases or end up homeless.

"This is compared with other gay and transgendered youth and young adults who were either not at all or only slightly rejected by their parents and caregivers because of their identity," he said. "This is critically important to understand."

He said creating safe learning environments "must be the first priorities of our schools" and urged districts to adopt curriculum that reflects and includes LGBT youths.

Wahls, the son of two lesbians, was thrust into the national spotlight at age 19 when he spoke to Iowa lawmakers about the meaning of family. The three-minute speech was posted on YouTube, where it was viewed more than 18 million times.

He went on to write a book, graduate from college, create the Rainbow Letters, a project collecting letters written by the children of LGBT parents, and co-found Scouts of Equality to end discrimination in the Boy Scouts of America. He is an Eagle Scout.

Nixa High School's Gay-Straight Alliance was formed in 2007 and currently has 75 members. Jeremy Charneco-Sullivan, a teacher at Nixa High and sponsor of the alliance, invited Wahls to speak Monday.

"The No. 1 reason I wanted to get across is 100 percent of our students deserve to be celebrated, not just tolerated," Charneco-Sullivan said. "I wanted to start the dialogue ... Tonight is about unity."

Awreon Riley, president of the student alliance, said the group campaigns to end bullying and to urge students to speak up.

"I, for one, think there has been a change. There are people coming to us saying 'I have been quiet too long,'" said Riley, 17.

Sydney Lazarte described herself as "straight, white female from the Bible belt" but joined the alliance because she doesn't want anyone — especially her LGBT friends — to be discriminated against. "Everyone is equal," she said.

Before Wahls took the stage, two Nixa High students spoke about their experiences and desires for change. Jude Brummett, a member of the alliance, said she has "seen my LGBT friends being discriminated against" in social situations and she wants it to stop.

"It takes a lot of courage for people to just be themselves," she said.

Parker Davidson, a sophomore at Nixa High, said she made it public a year ago that she was a lesbian, but the inner turmoil she felt about her identity started years earlier.

She struggled to fit in and meet the expectations of others. "I shouldn't have thought I had to manipulate myself to be something I am not."

Davidson wishes she had found an LGBT role model earlier in life so she wouldn't have had to be "hush hush" about herself. She believes that telling her story may help someone else.

"I can make a difference," she said. "One day this is going to pay off because our actions can change the world."