This speech by 19-year-old Zach Wahls, a student at the University of Iowa, is one of the most eloquent and passionate statements against anti-gay legislation I’ve heard in a long time.

Wahls, who was raised by two women, spoke at an Iowa House of Representatives public forum on House Joint Resolution 6, which would end civil unions in the state.

Here’s an excerpt:

Our family isn’t so different from any other Iowa family. When I’m home we go to church together, we eat dinner together, we go on vacations. But we have our hard times too. We get in fights. Actually my mom Terry was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. It’s a devastating disease that put her in a wheelchair. We’ve had our struggles. But you know, we’re Iowans. We don’t expect anyone to solve our problems for us. We’ll fight our own battles. We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government.

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