Michael McConnell and Jack Baker

James Michael McConnell[2] and Richard John "Jack" Baker[3] are the first same-sex couple to be married legally[4][5] with a license that was never revoked.[6] Their wedding became the earliest same-sex marriage ever to be recorded in the public files of any civil government.[7][8]

Michael McConnell and Jack Baker
Husbands Mike McConnell (left) and Jack Baker in 2016
Born
James Michael McConnell
Richard John Baker

1942 (both)
Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. (McConnell)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (Baker)
Known forFirst same-sex couple to be married legally.[1] (U.S.)

McConnell, a librarian, and Baker, a law student, were gay activists in the U.S. state of Minnesota from 1969 to 1980. After their marriage in Minnesota on 3 September 1971, they were invited often to appear publicly at colleges, schools, businesses and churches in the U.S. and Canada.[9]

In late 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Baker v. Nelson affirmed the lower court order to deny a marriage license to same-sex partners.[10][11] Their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was accepted but later dismissed.[12][13]

Historians argued, correctly, that neither decision affected McConnell and Baker because the couple obtained a valid license from Blue Earth County when they re-applied in early 1971.

Early years

Born in Norman, Oklahoma (1942), James Michael McConnell was raised and loved by his Baptist[14] parents. After graduating from Norman High School, he attended the University of Oklahoma (OU), ending with an MLS Degree (Master of Library Science). Baker was born in Chicago (1942) and, after both parents died, spent grades 1 - 12 at Maryville Academy,[15] a Catholic boarding school.

While on active duty (four years) in the U.S. Air Force, Baker was accepted in the Airmen Education Commissioning Program and stationed at OU, where he earned a BSIE degree (Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering).[16][17] He returned to Norman as a civilian – "Boy meets boy"[18] – and invited McConnell to hang out together. With reluctance, his friend agreed to negotiate a serious relationship.[15]

FREE activism

In 1969, weeks before the Stonewall riots,[19][20][21] two roommates recruited local friends to join a team called "Fight Repression of Erotic Expression" as part of an outreach program sponsored by Minnesota Free University.[22] Robert Halfhill, a graduate student who attended their lecture, wanted more than "just a social organization".[23] He left, determined to lead an independent group of "FREE"[24] students and activists on the Minneapolis campus (U of M) of the University of Minnesota.

Attendees elected Jack Baker, a law student,[25] to serve as president.[26] Moving aggressively and openly, FREE slowly transformed Minneapolis into a "mecca for gays",[27] with members soon endorsing McConnell's dream of same-sex marriage.[28]

When a faculty committee qualified the members to receive all privileges enjoyed by student groups,[29] it became "the first student gay organization to gain recognition in the upper mid-west."[30] Its "leaders [believed] it to be the first such organization on a Big Ten campus", and the second such organization in the United States, following the Student Homophile League[31] recognized by Columbia University in 1967.[32]

One member asked five major companies with local offices to explain their attitudes toward gay men and women. Three responded quickly,[33] insisting that they did not discriminate against gay people in their hiring policies. Honeywell objected to hiring people they knew to be gay. Later in the decade, when faced with a denial of access to students, Honeywell reversed its hiring policy.

In 1971, Baker campaigned[34][35] to become president of the Minnesota Student Association at the U of M. He was elected,[36] then re-elected.[37] The regents consented to his campaign promise and invited one student to sit with each committee as a non-voting member. That practice proved to be popular and became policy.[38] The governor later signed into law a bill reserving one seat on the board of regents for an enrolled student.[39]

The birth of PRIDE
Photo by Jim Chalgren, June 1973. Courtesy: Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries, Minneapolis.

In 1971, Members of FREE from Gay House invited friends to meet at picnics in Loring Park, near Downtown Minneapolis. Such events, which encouraged self-pride, began in mid-June as a prelude to local celebrations of Independence Day.[23] Thom Higgins, Prime Archon of the Church of the Chosen People, crafted Gay Pride[21] for the banner that would lead the crowd as it encouraged allies, supporters and bystanders to punish[40] the Catholic archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis for his public condemnation of both the gay life-style and self-pride as sinful.

At the time, Jack was the chair of the Target City Coalition, parent corporation for The Gay Pride Committee, which sponsored the Festival of Pride each June.[41] Such celebrations spread and became the PRIDE tradition[21] that thrives today in cities throughout the United States.

In 1973, FREE continued working with U of M faculty to protect gay students from discrimination.[42] Central Administration approved the final draft of a new policy in 1972 and the Campus Committee on Placement Services began accepting complaints of unequal treatment by employers recruiting on campus. A member of FREE received class credit for documenting[43] his youth and why he supported America's first gay marriage, which was featured on WCCO-TV.

Same-sex marriage activism

When a modern movement for marriage[1] equality emerged from the U of M, it attracted extensive media attention,[44] including appearances on the Phil Donahue Show;[45] Kennedy & Co. (WLS-TV, Chicago IL); and David Susskind Show[46] (New York, NY). After a professor of history, Allan Spear, mocked them as the "lunatic fringe",[47][48] admiration among peers spread locally[49] and widely.[50]

Lawsuit to obtain a marriage licence
Main article: Baker v. Nelson

After McConnell and Baker applied[11] for a marriage license,[51] the clerk's[52] rejection[53] was affirmed[54][55] by the Minnesota Supreme Court. However, before its "opinion" was published, McConnell re-applied – in a different county – and received a marriage license.[56]

Same-sex marriage as a civil right
Baker and McConnell (r) at their Minneapolis home, 1970

Speaking to members of the Ramsey County Bar Association, Baker insisted that same-sex unions are "not only authorized by the U.S. Constitution" but are mandatory.[57] Later, Baker spoke[58] to a forum of more than 2,000 at the University of Winnipeg, which Richard North credited as the start of his "fight to be married"[59] to Chris Vogel.

With the outcome never in doubt, marriage became the "civil rights issue of our times"[60] because "the conclusion was intuitively obvious to a first-year law student."[61]

Courts debate their marriage

McConnell's marriage to Baker depended on how Minnesota interpreted its laws.[11] Early results were not favorable.[62] An appeal, sponsored by the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union,[63] was accepted[12] by the U.S. Supreme Court[64] but later dismissed, unanimously.[65][66][67]

Their joint tax return for 1973 was rejected by the Internal Revenue Service.[68] Likewise, the Veterans Administration rejected McConnell's request for spousal benefits.[69] Undaunted, McConnell listed Baker as an adopted "child" on his tax returns for which he received a deduction as head of household from 1974 through 2004. That benefit ended when Congress limited the deduction to an individual under the age of 19.[70]

Adoption, name change, and a lasting marriage

After McConnell adopted Baker,[71] he re-applied in Blue Earth County and received a marriage license, which "was never revoked".[56][6] Rev. Roger Lynn, a minister from the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, validated[72] the marriage contract at a private home in Minneapolis.[28][73]

The Hennepin County Attorney convened a grand jury, which studied the legality of the marriage but found the question not worth pursuing.[74] The Family Law Reporter argued that Baker v. Nelson[12] could not annul a marriage contract that was validated "a full six weeks" before the decision was filed.[75]

Professor Thomas Kraemer insisted that FREE hosted "the first same-sex couple in history to be legally married".[76] In 2018, "The [1971] marriage is declared to be in all respects valid."[4]

Vindication in later years
Baker, McConnell (2016)

The couple obtained a valid marriage license before the rejection in Hennepin County was appealed to and accepted[12] by the U.S. Supreme Court. Though that case ended in 1972, "for want of a substantial federal question",[66] other challenges followed as they pursued affirmation of their union while living openly as a married couple.[64]

In 1972, Baker led the DFL Gay Rights Caucus at the State Convention of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. The caucus persuaded delegates to endorse "legislation defining marriage as a civil contract between any two adults".[77] That vote became the "first known case" of support by a major United States political party for same-sex marriage.

In 2003, Baker and McConnell amended their individual tax returns for the year 2000, filing jointly as a couple, offering proof of a valid marriage license from Blue Earth County. The IRS challenged the validity of the marriage and argued that, even if the license were valid, the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the IRS from recognizing it. When McConnell brought suit, the U.S. District Court for Minnesota upheld[78] the IRS ruling and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, saying that McConnell could not re-litigate a question decided previously.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court answered the question they tried to resolve in 1972: "Do same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married?"[79] Yes,[80] because all citizens have an inherent right to marry the adult of one's choice. As a friend of the court,[81] Minnesota's attorney general argued that the Minnesota Supreme Court's "procreation rationale" did not support its prohibition of same-sex marriage.

Employment discrimination at U of M

In 1970, the University Librarian[82] invited Michael McConnell to head the Cataloging Division on the university's St. Paul campus. The board of regents refused to approve the offer after McConnell applied for a marriage license and regent Daniel Gainey insisted that "homosexuality is about the worst thing there is."[83]

McConnell sued and prevailed in federal District Court.[84] The board appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals,[85] which agreed that the university did not restrict free speech. Instead, it was McConnell who wanted to implement his "controversial ideas" and foist tacit approval of his "socially repugnant concept" upon the employer.[86] More than 80%[87] of the U of M students objected to the regents' behavior.

Hennepin County Library, then a diverse and growing system of 26 facilities, hired McConnell. After 37 years of service, McConnell retired as a Coordinating Librarian with gratitude expressed publicly.[88]

In 2012, University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler offered McConnell a personal apology for the "reprehensible"[89] treatment endured from the board of regents in 1970. McConnell accepted his assurances and agreed to join the Heritage Society of the President's Club.

Interviews
  • Tom Crann (16 July 2015). "For Mpls. couple, gay marriage ruling is a victory 43 years in the making". MPR News. Minnesota Public Radio News.
  • T.J. Raphael (25 June 2015). "Meet the two men who managed to get the first known same-sex marriage license - back in 1970". The Takeaway, Public Radio International.

Short documentary

Further reading

References
  1. A historic celebration with no legal certificate, even if blessed in church, is perhaps a wedding but not a marriage.
    • Source: Black's Law Dictionary, Revised Fourth Edition, West Publishing Co. (1968).
      • (page 1123) MARRIAGE: Marriage, as distinguished from the agreement to marry and from the act of becoming married, is the civil status, condition, or relation of [two parties] united in law for life, for the discharge to each other and the community of the duties legally incumbent on those whose association is founded on the distinction of sex. 1 Bish.Mar. & Div. § 3; Collins v Hoag & Rollins, 121 Neb. 716, 238 N.W. 351, 355; Allen v. Allen, 73 Conn. 54, 46 A. 242, 49 L.R.A. 142.
      • (page 1124) MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: An instrument which certifies a marriage, and is executed by the person officiating at the marriage; it is not intended to be signed by the parties. Spencer v. Spencer, 84 Misc.Rep. 264, 147 N.Y.S. 111, 113.
  2. Baume, Matt (March 1, 2019). "Meet the Gay Men Whose 1971 Marriage Was Finally Recognized". The Advocate.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Padnani, Amisha; Fang, Celina (June 26, 2015). "Same-Sex Marriage: Landmark Decisions and Precedents". The New York Times.
  4. Sources: McConnell Files, "America’s First Gay Marriage" (binder #4), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • CONCLUSIONS OF LAW by Assistant Chief Judge Gregory Anderson (18 September 2018). Fifth Judicial District, File #07-CV-16-4559 (page 4): "The September 3, 1971 marriage of James Michael McConnell and Pat Lyn McConnell, a/k/a Richard John Baker, has never been dissolved or annulled by judicial decree and no grounds currently exist on which to invalidate the marriage".
      • Available online from U of M Libraries.
      • Posted online by Minnesota Judicial Branch. NOTE: To reach the document, you may need to copy-n-paste the hyperlink into a different browser. (1) Add Case Number = 07-CV-16-4559, then (2) scroll to "Findings of Fact Conclusions of Law and Order" (09/18/2018), then (3) download PDF.
  5. StoryCorps Archive (12 September 2017). "Michael McConnell, Jack (Richard J.) Baker, and Lisa Vecoli".
    • Michael McConnell (75) and husband Jack Baker (75) talk with friend Lisa Vecoli (55) about having the first same-sex marriage legally recognized by a U.S. civil government in 1971, why they chose to get married, and what the response to their marriage was like.
    • JB describes the decades-long (46 year) process from the denial of their marriage license in 1971 until a second request that same year in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, was "declared to be in all respects valid" by Order of Gregory J. Anderson, Judge of District Court.
  6. Newsletter (p. 6), "Hidden Treasures from the Stacks", September 2013; available online from The National Archives at Kansas City.
  7. Source: Chapter 24; Eskridge, William N., Jr.; Riano, Christopher R. (2020). Marriage Equality From Outlaws to In-Laws. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300221817.
  8. Michael McConnell, with Jack Baker, as told to Gail Langer Karwoski, "The Wedding Heard Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage.", University of Minnesota Press (2020).
  9. See: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" [volumes 2c and 2d], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries
  10. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volume 2ab), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Letter addressed to Gerald R. Nelson, Clerk of District Court, from George M. Scot, County Attorney. "The consequences of an interpretation of our marriage statutes which would permit males to enter into the marriage contract could be to result in an undermining and destruction of the entire legal concept of our family structure in all areas of law." May 1970, page 6.
  11. "Minnesota Statutes Annotated", West Publishing Co. (1970)
    • Chapter 517.01: Marriage a civil contract. "Marriage, so far as its validity in law is concerned, is a civil contract, to which the consent of the parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential."
    • Chapter 517.03: Marriages prohibited. [The list does not include parties of the same gender.]
  12. The U.S. Supreme Court was required to accept an appeal of a state court's "opinion" as a matter of right, a practice that the Supreme Court Case Selections Act ended in 1988.
  13. Sources: McConnell Files, "America’s First Gay Marriage" (binder #3), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • October Term, 1972: "Appellee's Motion to Dismiss Appeal and Brief" by George M. Scott, County Attorney
    • page 7: "Questions Raised by This Appeal Are Moot".
  14. Gale Langer Karwoski, "The Wedding Heard 'Round The World", University of Minnesota Press (2016)
  15. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 5a-e and 8c), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • September 1947: To ensure that the remaining four of ten children – two boys and two girls – remained together, Baker was allowed to enter the first grade at age 5 and graduate from high school at age 17, a stay of almost 12 years.
    • March 1967: On Baker's 25th Birthday, McConnell insisted that he would accept Baker's invitation to commit as lovers if, and only if, he could find a way for the relationship to be recognized as a "legal" marriage.
  16. Eskridge, William N., Jr.; Riano, Christopher R. (2020). "Coming Out of the Constitutional Closet". Marriage Equality From Outlaws to In-Laws. Yale University Press. doi:10.12987/9780300255744-003. ISBN 978-0-300-25574-4.
  17. Bloomquist, Madison (December 18, 2015). "A pioneering couple". Southwest Journal.
  18. Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004), page 2. available online from U of M Libraries.
    • At a party, in a barn, on farmland, near Norman (31 October 1966).
  19. Salam, Maya (2019-06-04). "50 Years Later, What We Forgot About Stonewall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  20. York, Mailing Address: 26 Wall Street Federal Hall National Monument c/o Stonewall National Monument New; Us, NY 10005 Phone: 212-668-2577 Contact. "Stonewall National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  21. Sources: McConnell Files, "America’s First Gay Marriage" (Gift #13), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Binder #7: MEMORANDUM for the record (19 May 2021). Some credit New York City, incorrectly, as "the cradle of the modern LGBT rights movement". Riots there were a response to police harassment and had nothing to do with either "Gay Pride" celebrations or demands for "Gay Marriage", both of which began in Minneapolis from where they spread worldwide.
      • "Gay Pride" appears on fliers waved by a few individuals in a march entitled "Gay and Proud", which was promoted by its sponsors as "the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, held in New York City, New York, on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots." Source: video; available online from the Library of Congress.
      • Stonewall leadership decided to change its commemoration of riots to a celebration of "Gay Pride" after Thom Higgins, formerly a monk before joining FREE, coined the term for that purpose.
    • Binder #7a: Egil Jonsson posted his copy of Jim Chalgren's 'Gay Pride' photo on his Facebook page (29 February 2012, re-posted on 24 June 2019) with this comment: "I am in the orange range, 16 years old. This was the first gay rights march in the country that had a headline banner "Gay Pride". The following year all the marches adopted this and everyone called it Gay Pride. The banner was made by a friend, Thom Higgins, . . . Thom and I dated, [became] friends in 1980."
  22. Office: 529 Cedar Avenue, in the Cedar Riverside Neighborhood of Minneapolis, near the U of M's expanding campus on the West Bank of the Mississippi.
    • New course: K.A. Phelps, "The Homosexual Revolution", Bulletin No. 5 (18 May 1969).
    • Source: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
  23. Scott Paulsen, "Twin Cities Gay and Lesbian Community Oral History Project", Minnesota Historical Society : "Interview with Koreen Phelps (1993-11-05)". GUIDE: If the interview does not appear on your screen, copy-n-paste the hyperlink into a different browser.
    • (page 14) SP: There was someone who had a lot of press nationally, that's Jack Baker. Can you tell me something about his involvement and what you thought of him and his role in FREE and the gay community? Let's just start with FREE. → KP: [I was] really upset with Jack.  . . . the right to get married was just a publicity stunt. I was really angry about that and felt that Jack was an opportunist and really in it for himself.  . . . → I think one of the reasons I didn't hang in there is because the group was moving. After the initial public political things we did, I think the group was moving in a direction of being more just a social organization and moving more toward the Democratic party, with Jack being this sort of benevolent dictator. The whole thing was just not what I liked to be a part of.
      • (page 16) KP: There were not enough lesbians who were politically conscious at the time to come in and be a force in FREE. I thought that's the way it was. I would say at the beginning of almost every meeting, "Where are the women?" and everybody would laugh.
    • (page 20) SP: Yes, Gay Pride and the march. → KP: Most definitely it is a creation FREE and the people in FREE.  . . . I don't think I even went to a picnic.  . . .
  24. Bruce Johasen, "Out of Silence", Minnesota History (Spring 2019), 189. -> "Halfhill steered the group through the administrative channels needed to establish FREE as a student group".
  25. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volumes 6a-b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries. As a student body president, elected 1971 and re-elected 1972, he was known by different names.
    • March 1942: Richard John Baker, Certificate of Birth
    • September 1969: Jack Baker, name adopted to lead activists demanding gay equality
    • August 1971: Pat Lyn McConnell, married name; by Decree of Adoption
  26. Neal R. Peirce, "The Great Plains States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Nine Great Plains States", George J. McLeod (1973), 145. Available online, accessed February 7, 2014
  27. Lily Hansen, GAY, "F.R.E.E. At Last" (11 May 1970), 13.
    • See also, the Introduction by Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004). Available online from U of M Libraries.
  28. For Release, "Minnesota Hosts First Legally Sanctioned Same-Sex Marriage", Minnesota Student Association (7 September 1971)
    • See also; For immediate release, FREE (17 May 1970)
  29. Wayne R. Dynes, "Homosexuality and Government, Politics and Prisons" (1992), 248; Available online, accessed February 7, 2012.
  30. News from, Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (1 November 1969).
  31. Merged later with the Columbia Queer Alliance.
  32. Schumach, Murray (May 3, 1967). "Columbia Charters Homosexual Group" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  33. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 1a - d), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Letter to FREE from Vice President Gerry E. Morse, Honeywell Inc. (29 June 1970). -> "We would not employ a known homosexual."
    • Anon., "Three big companies say they hire Gays", The Advocate (30 September 1970).
    • Lars Bjornson, "A quiet win: Honeywell yields", The Advocate (10 April 1974), 13.
  34. Campaign poster: Jack Baker Comes Out - for Things That Count!, published by Bill Huntzicker, "Dinkytown: Four Blocks of History", History Press (2016), page 161. -> "Mama D joined a collection of patriotic icons in this campaign poster for Jack Baker, the first openly gay student body president at the University of Minnesota."
  35. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volume 6a), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Profile of "Jack Baker", Minnesota Daily (9 March 1971), page 2. -> Student dignity is "a state of mind that forces students to realize their own self-worth and to search out a new self respect," Baker said in a recent policy statement.
    • A New Level Of Self-Respect. Kay Tobin and Randy Wicker, "The Gay Crusaders", Paperback Library, New York (1972), 136.
  36. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 6a - b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Endorsement: "Baker for MSA president", Minnesota Daily, (5 April 1971), page 4. -> "He has spoken truth to power because he knows the power of truth."
    • Steve Brandt, "Baker wins in record vote," Minnesota Daily (8 April 1971), 1. -> "A total of 6,024 ballots cast topped the previous record of 5,049 in the 1958 election."
    • Gary Dawson, "Homosexual Credits U Election Victory to a New Sophistication", St. Paul Dispatch (8 April 1971), 35.
  37. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 6a - b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Vic Stoner, "Baker, Schwartz win MSA election", Minnesota Daily (7 April 1972), 1. -> It was "the first time in the 121-year history of the U of M that a student body president has been re-elected."
    • Anon., "Law senior elected U. student president", Associated Press. Re-printed in Austin Daily Herald (7 April 1972), page ?.
  38. Student Representatives to the Board of Regents. Available online from the U of M website.
  39. UNIVERSITY STUDENT ON BOARD OF REGENTS. Available online from 2021 Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 137, Section 137.023 (amending chapter 120, section 1, 1976).
    • "In electing members of the Board of Regents pursuant to article 13, section 3, of the Constitution of the state of Minnesota, and Territorial Laws 1851, chapter 3, section 5, one member of the Board of Regents of the university shall be a person who at the time of election to the board is a student who is enrolled in a degree program at the university. This person shall represent the state at large. Upon expiration of the term or in the event of a vacancy in the office, one position shall be filled by a person having the same qualifications."
  40. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volume 8b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries, Minneapolis.
    • Anon., Star Tribune (1 June 2018), A1. "The wrenching bankruptcy that forced a reckoning on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for decades of clergy sexual abuse has culminated in a $210 million settlement for roughly 450 victims, the largest of its kind nationwide."
  41. Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004), p. 38. Available online from U of M Libraries, Minneapolis.
  42. Letter mailed to Jack Baker and others (11 February 1971). University of Minnesota president Malcolm Moos said, "I appreciate your willingness to serve on the Campus Committee on Placement Services."
    • also: Gary Urban, "Complaint charges Honeywell discrimination", Minnesota Daily (12 March 1973), 8.
  43. Sources: Ken Kurtenbach (Gotebo High School), "Human Relations", University of Minnesota Media Resources; posted by Brandon Wolf on YouTube. GUIDE: If the documentary does not appear on your screen, copy-n-paste the hyperlink into a different browser.
    • Memoir of Michael McConnell, as told to Gail Langer Karwoski, "The Wedding Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage," University of Minnesota Press (2016) and paperback release "with a new epilogue" (2020).
    • Dave 'Moore On Sunday', "Tackles Gay Rights" (30 September 1973), posted online by WCCO - CBS Minnesota. "WCCO's Dave Moore takes a look at the evolving gay liberation movement of the early '70s, including a look at the marriage of Jack Baker and Mike McConnell."
  44. Sources: McConnell Files (Gift #6), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Jack Star, "The Homosexual Couple," LOOK (26 January 1971), 69 - 71.
    • Michael Durham, "Homosexuals in revolt", LIFE (31 December 1971), 68.
  45. Condon, Patrick (December 10, 2012). "Minn. gay couple in '71 marriage case still joined". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  46. Sasha Aslanian, "Video: Gay rights pioneers Jack Baker and Michael McConnell predicted marriage victory in '70s", MPRnews (16 May 2013). Baker insisted, "We're gonna win eventually, not this time but maybe the next time around." Available online from Minnesota Public Radio.
  47. David von Drehle, "Gay Marriage Already Won", TIME (8 April 2013), 22.
  48. StoryCorps: search online for "How Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became husbands in 1971"; heard on National Public Radio, 'Morning Edition' (14 October 2022).
    • [Text from the transcript] BAKER: We got quite a bit of criticism, and very few people were actually supporting us. But I figured, well, history would speak for itself.
  49. National History Day project crafted by Joseph Kase and Jeremiah Smith, 7th grade students at a public school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. (Feb 2014).
    • As posted on YouTube: "Baker v. Nelson: The Original Case for Gay Marriage". Though access is now private, a copy is preserved in the public domain by the Wayback Machine (18 August 2020).
    • Sources plus more student interest: The McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" [volume 7e], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
  50. National History Day theme crafted by Miki H. and Alina P., middle school students in Woodinville, Washington, U.S. (March 2023).
    • Emails from Miki: (March 19) "We got first place! We will be moving on to state" . . .
      • [NHD SCRIPT] . . . Conclusion: . . .
        • Alina: Jack Baker and Michael McConnell made a major risk when they decided to go to court. Without them, it could have taken years, maybe even decades to get same-sex marriage legal.
        • Miki: Baker v. Nelson opened up a new frontier for LGBTQ+ equality and introduced a concept that had been rejected by many. Same-sex marriage.
        • Alina: Jack and Michael led the way for countless other same-sex marriage cases that followed. . . .
        • Miki: And of course, Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. . . .
      • Both take a step forward
        • Miki: A frontier that is still a work in progress. Because none of us are free. Until all of us are free.
        • Alina: And the battle for human rights . . . is never finished.
      • As performed: "A New Frontier of LGBTQ+ Rights in Baker v. Nelson". [If the video does not appear on your screen, copy-n-paste the hyperlink into a different browser.]
    • (April 24) "We placed fourth place [in the state competition] and competed in both the preliminary and finals rounds. Unfortunately, since we did not place in the top two, we will not be going to nationals."
    • Sources: The McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volume 7e), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
  51. Jack Baker, as told to Helen Barrett, "We had America's first gay marriage - in 1971" (7 August 2015). Available online from the Financial Times Magazine.
  52. Gerald R. Nelson, Clerk of District Court, Fourth Judicial District, which includes Hennepin County.
  53. Associated Press, "Marriage Is Out", Kansas City Star (24 May 1970), 30A.
    • and: "Gay Marriage Plea Is Denied", St. Paul Pioneer Press (19 Nov. 1970), 27.
    • also: "Court Won't Let Men Wed", N.Y. Times (10 Jan. 1971), 65.
  54. Appellant's Jurisdictional Statement, Minnesota Supreme Court docket no. 71-1027, at 3 - 4. Essentially, they argued that "what is not forbidden is permitted".
  55. 191 N.W.2d 185 (15 Oct 1971). On page 186, the court's "opinion", written by Justice C. Donald Peterson said, "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation or rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis".
  56. "Daily Record", Mankato Free Press (16 August 1971), p. ?. Recorded in Mankato by the Clerk of District Court, Fifth Judicial District, which includes Blue Earth County.
  57. Bob Protzman, "Gay Marriage OK Predicted", St. Paul Pioneer Press, p ? (22 October 1971). "I am convinced," he said, "that same-sex marriages will be legalized in the United States."
  58. Sources: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries
    • Jack Baker, "The right to be human and gay", Manitoban (13 March 1972). As reprinted by Ken Bronson in "A Quest for Full Equality", page 69 (2004). Available online from U of M Libraries.
  59. Mia Rabson, "Couple helped make history", Winnipeg Free Press, A4 (17 September 2004).
    • Interview by Canadian Museum for Human Rights is posted online by CBC (Canada, 2004). "Chris Vogel and Rich North of Winnipeg were the first gay couple to legally marry in Canada."
    • North's letter of gratitude to Jack Baker (20 September 2004) is posted online courtesy of the U of M's McConnell Files. "We now have equal marriage in Manitoba, and our efforts here were a direct result of your leadership in Minnesota." GUIDE: Click 'posted online' to view the primary source. If the letter does not appear on your screen, copy-n-paste the hyperlink into a different browser.
  60. Michael K. Lavers, "NAACP president: Marriage is civil rights issue of our times" Washington Blade (21 May 2012); available online
  61. Baker to Patrick Condon, "Gay couple in 1971 marriage ruling reflect on new court challenges", Associated Press
    • Reprinted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press (11 December 2012), 3A+
  62. Pat Kessler, "A Rare Glimpse At Minn.'s 1st Gay Wedding In 1971" (31 July 2013). "What is believed to be the first same-sex marriage in the United States was performed in Minnesota." Available online by WCCO-TV / CBS; Minneapolis, MN.
    • see also: Naomi Pescovitz, "Pastor Reflects Back on Minn. Gay Marriage", KSTP-TV / Minneapolis, MN (16 May 2013). Available online on YouTube.
    • and: Associated Press, "They're Mr. and Mr.", San Francisco Chronicle (8 September 1971), 3
  63. The American Civil Liberties Union refused a request for legal support.
    • Letter from Norman Dorsen, General Counsel for ACLU (1970). Its leadership, he said, showed "little or no enthusiasm" for gay marriage. Published by Jason Smith, "Gay Pride Block Party Case", Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation (January 2012), page 52. Available online from U of M Libraries.
    • According to Professor Thomas Kraemer [Oregon State University], early gay activists [in New York City] "were mostly interested in sexual freedom and gay liberation". See, "Jack Baker deserves mainstream press coverage after gay marriage ruling" (7 July 2012). Available online from Tom's OSU.
  64. Eckholm, Eric (May 16, 2015). "The Same-Sex Couple Who Got a Marriage License in 1971". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  65. 409 U.S. 810, 93 S.Ct. 37, 34 L.Ed.2d 65 (1972)
  66. Greenhouse, Linda (March 20, 2013). "Wedding Bells". New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  67. Jess Bravin, "Supreme Court Clerk Remembers First Same-Sex Marriage Case" (1 May 2015). According to his clerk, Justice Harry Blackmun said, "I just [didn't] think the court was ready at the time to take on the issue." Available online from The Wall Street Journal.
  68. Anon., "Homosexual Couple Contest I.R.S. Ban On a Joint Return", The New York Times (5 Jan. 1975), 55
  69. McConnell v. Nooner:
    • District Court, No. 4-75-Civ. 566 (D. Minn. 20 April 1976)
    • and: United States Court of Appeals, 547 F.2d 54 (8th Cir. 1976): "Minnesota law prohibits same sex marriages . . ."
  70. "Form 1040 Instructions", page 19 (2005). Available online from the Internal Revenue Service.
  71. Sources: McConnell Files, "America’s First Gay Marriage" [Binder #3], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • FINDINGS AND DECREE plus MEMORANDUM by Judge Lindsay G. Arthur (3 August 1971). Fourth Judicial District, Juvenile Division, File No. AD-19962. Baker's legal name changed to Pat Lyn McConnell: "regardless of popular conception, adoption is not limited to children" . . .
    • See also: Anon., "U student head adopted by homosexual friend", Minneapolis Tribune (25 August 1971), 1A.
    • And: Associated Press, "Male's adoption by roommate OKd", Rocky Mountain News, Denver (26 August 1971), 85.
  72. "In 1971, the first ever same sex marriage took place. One man, made that possible. Reverend Roger Lynn is a minister who officiated the first gay wedding. This is a video to honor him and his significance in gay rights and equality."
    • Source: Logan Chelmo, search online for "Honoring Rev. Roger Lynn" (posted 6 June 2021). Edited copy courtesy of U of M Libraries
  73. Claire Bowes, "Jack Baker and Michael McConnell: Gay Americans who married in 1971" (3 July 2013); available online from BBC News Magazine. "Pastor Roger Lynn holds up Baker and McConnell's marriage certificate" from the ceremony he conducted in Minneapolis.
  74. Anon., "Homosexual Wins Fight to Take Bar Examination in Minnesota", New York Times (7 January 1973), 55. "Thus the marriage remained in effect."
  75. Bureau of National Affairs, "Gay married couple frustrated in adoption bid", The Family Law Reporter (10 December 1974). The "federal constitution prohibition against ex post facto laws . . . forbids the imposition of punishment for past conduct lawful at the time it was engaged" (page 2103).
  76. Professor Thomas Kraemer [Oregon State University], "Gay marriage discussion in 1953 vs. 1963 and today" (16 December 2013). Available online from Tom's OSU
  77. Sources: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2002), page 32. Available online from U of M Libraries.
    • For Release Any Time, "Gay Machine Startles DFL Regulars", DFL Gay Rights Caucus (9 June 1972).
    • Resolution 71.d, "The 1972 DFL Platform", Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor State Central Committee at Rochester, MN (9–11 June 1972).
  78. "McConnell v. United States, January 3, 2005" (PDF). US District Court for Minnesota. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  79. Parloff, Roger (January 18, 2015). "12 key moments that led to the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage case". Fortune.
  80. Minnesota Supreme Court's "opinion", as published in Baker v. Nelson and accepted as precedent, was overturned in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).
  81. Source: Obergefell v. Hodges, In The Supreme Court of the United States (March 2015).
    • Lori Swanson, Attorney General, "Brief of the State of Minnesota as AMICUS CURIAE in support of petitioners", page 18. Available online.
  82. Sources: McConnell Files, “Full Equality, a diary", volumes 5a-e (The McConnell case), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • Letter from Ralph H. Hopp, University Librarian, U of M, mailed to Michael McConnell (27 April 1970).
    • Letter from James F. Hogg, Secretary, Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, delivered to Michael McConnell (10 July 1970). -> The following recommendation of its Executive Committee is approved: "That the appointment of Mr. J. M. McConnell to the position of the Head of the Cataloging Division of the St. Paul Campus Library at the rank of Instructor not be approved on the grounds that his personal conduct, as represented in the public and University news media, is not consistent with the best interest of the University."
  83. Randy Tigue, "Regent: FREE member case 'matter of public relations', Minnesota Daily (16 July 1970), 1.
  84. Source: "McConnell v. Anderson, 316 F.Supp. 809 (D. Minn. 1970)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
    • Bob Lundegaard, "University Ordered to Hire Homosexual", Minneapolis Tribune (10 September 1970), 23.
  85. Source: "McConnell v. Anderson, 41F.2d193 (Oct 18, 1971)". OpenJurist. F2d (451): 193. 18 October 1971. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
    • Anon., "Homosexual Wins a Suit over Hiring", New York Times (20 September 1970), Available online, accessed February 7, 2012.
  86. Michelle Andrea Wolf and Alfred P. Kielwasser, eds., "Gay People, Sex, and the Media", Haworth Press (1991), 237. -> McConnell wanted "to pursue an activist role in implementing his controversial ideas concerning the social status to be accorded homosexuals and thereby to foist tacit approval of the socially repugnant concept upon his employer." Available online, accessed February 7, 2012.
  87. Source: Office of Student Affairs, "Research Bulletin", U of M (Winter 1972). -> "Do you think the University was justified in firing McConnell because of his open declaration of homosexuality?"
    • yes = 10%, no = 81%, no opinion = 8%, other = 1%
  88. Agenda item 7A, "Commendation of Michael McConnell" (30 November 2010). Available online from the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
  89. Sources: McConnell Files, "America’s First Gay Marriage", Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, U of M Libraries.
    • "News", University News Service (22 June 2012). -> "U of M President Eric Kaler has called McConnell's treatment reprehensible, regrets that it occurred and says that the university's actions at that time were not consistent with the practices enforced today at the university."
    • Email from Eric W Kaler - Office of the President <upres@umn.edu> to Logan Chelmo [Shakopee High School, class of 2018] (25 June 2018). -> "The dictionary defines 'reprehensible' as 'deserving of rebuke or censure.' And the action taken by our Board in 1970 to rescind Michael McConnell's job offer simply because of who he loved –- and not because of his qualifications as a librarian –- is today worthy of deep criticism . . . of rebuke and censure."
    • Letter from Michael McConnell addressed to university president Eric Kaler (25 July 2012).
    • Letter from Robert Burgett, Senior Vice President, University of Minnesota Foundation, addressed to Michael McConnell (17 February 2020).
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