Jack Baker and Michael McConnell

Richard John "Jack" Baker^[1] and James Michael McConnell^[2] are the first same-sex couple to have been married legally in the United States^[3][4] with a marriage license that was never revoked.^[5] Their marriage has been asserted to be the earliest same-sex marriage ever to be recorded in the public files of any civil government.^[6][7]

Jack Baker and Michael McConnell
Husbands Mike McConnell (left) and Jack Baker in 2016
Born	Richard John Baker James Michael McConnell 1942 (age 80–81) (both) Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. (McConnell) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (Baker)
Known for	First same-sex couple to have been married legally in the United States

They met in 1966, and Baker proposed for the couple to enter into a committed relationship on his birthday on March 10, 1967,^[8] with McConnell agreeing only on the condition that Baker find a way for them to live openly as a married couple,^[8] and Baker enrolled as a law student in order to pursue their right to marry.^[9][10]

Baker, then a student, and McConnell, a librarian, became gay activists in the U.S. state of Minnesota from 1969 to 1980. After being refused a marriage license in 1970, they succeeded in obtaining one in a different county and were married in Minnesota on September 3, 1971. They were later often invited to appear and speak at colleges, schools, businesses and churches in the U.S. and Canada, although their marriage was often not recognized as legal, e.g. by various courts, the IRS and the Veterans Administration, until a ruling in 2018.^[11]

On October 15, 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Baker v. Nelson affirmed a court clerk's refusal^{[clarification needed]} in early 1970^[when?] to issue them a marriage license in Hennepin County for the sole reason that they were same-sex partners (despite this not being identified in Minnesota law as a reason for prohibiting a marriage).^[12][13] Their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was initially accepted^[when?] but was then unanimously dismissed.^[a][14]

They and others have asserted that neither decision directly affected the validity of Baker and McConnell's marriage, because although they were refused a marriage license in Hennepin County, they had also later applied for one from Blue Earth County on August 9, 1971, and had successfully obtained one there on August 16, 1971, and gotten married on September 3 using that license^[3] before the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on October 15 in support of the Hennepin County clerk's refusal to issue them a license.

Early years

 

Jack Baker^[15] at age 15 (left, rear)^[16]

Baker was born in Chicago on March 10, 1942, and after both of his parents died, he spent grades 1–12 at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines, Illinois, a Catholic boarding school.^[9][8]

Born in Norman, Oklahoma, also in 1942, James Michael McConnell was raised and loved by his Baptist parents.^[17] After graduating from Norman High School, he attended the University of Oklahoma (OU), ending with a Master of Library Science degree in June 1968.^[8]

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 Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.^[18][19] He returned to Norman as a civilian, met McConnell,^[20] and invited him to hang out. With reluctance, his friend agreed to enter into a serious relationship.^[9] Baker also later received a Master's degree in June 1968.^[8]

FREE activism

In 1969, weeks before the Stonewall riots in New York City,^[21][22][23] two roommates recruited local friends to join a team^{[clarification needed]} called "Fight Repression of Erotic Expression" as part of an outreach program sponsored by Minnesota Free University.^[24] Robert Halfhill, a graduate student who attended their lecture, wanted more than "just a social organization".^[25] He left, determined to lead an independent group of "FREE"^[26] students and activists on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota.

Attendees elected Jack Baker, a law student,^[15] to serve as president.^[27] Moving aggressively and openly, FREE eventually transformed Minneapolis into a "mecca for gays",^[28] with members soon endorsing McConnell's dream of same-sex marriage.^[29]

When a faculty committee qualified the members to receive all privileges enjoyed by student groups,^[30] it became "the first student gay organization to gain recognition in the upper mid-west."^[31] 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^[32] recognized by Columbia University in 1967.^[33]

One member asked five major companies with local offices to explain their attitudes toward gay men and women. Three responded quickly,^[34] 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^[35][36] to become president of the Minnesota Student Association at the University of Minnesota. He was elected,^[37] then re-elected.^[38] 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.^[39] The governor later signed into law a bill reserving one seat on the board of regents for an enrolled student.^[40]

The birth of PRIDE

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.^[25] Thom Higgins, Prime Archon of the Church of the Chosen People, crafted Gay Pride^[23] for the banner that would lead the crowd as it encouraged allies, supporters and bystanders to punish^[41] the Catholic archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis for his public condemnation of both the gay life-style and self-pride as sinful.

 

Celebrations end with a parade through Downtown Minneapolis.^[42]

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.^[43] Such celebrations spread and became the PRIDE tradition^[23] that thrives today in cities throughout the United States.

In 1973, FREE continued working with University of Minnesota faculty to protect gay students from discrimination.^[44] 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^[45] 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 equality" emerged from the University of Minnesota, it attracted extensive media attention,^[46] including appearances on the Phil Donahue Show;^[47] Kennedy & Co. (WLS-TV, Chicago IL); and David Susskind Show^[48] (New York, NY). After a professor of history, Allan Spear, mocked them as the "lunatic fringe",^[49][50] admiration among peers spread locally^[51]

Lawsuit to obtain a marriage license

Main article: Baker v. Nelson

After McConnell and Baker applied^[13] for a marriage license,^[52] the clerk's^[53] rejection^[54] was affirmed^{[clarification needed][55][56]} by the Minnesota Supreme Court. However, before the court's opinion was published, McConnell re-applied – in a different county – and received a marriage license.^[when?][57]

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.^[58] Later, Baker spoke^[59] 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"^[60] to Chris Vogel.^{[clarification needed]}

In 2012, the president of the NAACP Benjamin Todd Jealous called same-sex marriage the "civil rights issue of our times"^[61] while Baker said "the conclusion was intuitively obvious to a first-year law student."^[62]

Courts debate their marriage

McConnell's marriage to Baker depended on how Minnesota interpreted its laws.^[13] Early results were not favorable.^[63] An appeal, sponsored by the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union,^[64] was accepted^[a] by the U.S. Supreme Court^[10] which then dismissed it.^[65][66][67] The U.S. Supreme Court response, issued on October 10, 1972, was a one-sentence order: "The appeal is dismissed for want of a substantial federal question."^[68]

Their joint tax return for 1973 was rejected by the Internal Revenue Service.^[69] Likewise, the Veterans Administration rejected McConnell's request for spousal benefits.^[70] 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.^[71]

Adoption and later legal review

After McConnell adopted Baker,^{[clarification needed][72]} he re-applied in Blue Earth County and received a marriage license, which "was never revoked".^[57][5] Rev. Roger Lynn, a minister from the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, validated^[73] the marriage contract at a private home in Minneapolis.^[29][74]

The Hennepin County Attorney convened a grand jury, which studied the legality of the marriage but found the question not worth pursuing.^[when?][75] The Family Law Reporter argued^[when?] that Baker v. Nelson^[a] could not annul a marriage contract that was validated "a full six weeks" before the decision was filed.^[76]

Professor Thomas Kraemer of Oregon State University asserted on a blog in 2013 that FREE had hosted "the first same-sex couple in history to be legally married".^[77] In 2018, a judge concluded that "The [1971] marriage is declared to be in all respects valid."^{[clarification needed][3]}

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^[a] 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.^[10]

In 1972, Baker led the Gay Rights Caucus at the state convention of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, the affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the state of Minnesota. The caucus persuaded delegates to endorse "legislation defining marriage as a civil contract between any two adults".^[78] 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^[79] 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 had dismissed in 1972: "Do same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married?"^[80] In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the court concluded that this right does exist, because all citizens have an inherent right to marry the adult of their choice, overturning the Minnesota Supreme Court's opinion in Baker v. Nelson, which had been accepted as precedent. As a "friend of the court",^[81] the Attorney General of Minnesota agreed that the Minnesota Supreme Court's prior "procreation rationale" did not support its prohibition of same-sex marriage.

Employment discrimination at the University of Minnesota

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 asserted 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 with the university that it had not restricted free speech. Instead, it ruled that McConnell was to blame for wanting to implement his "controversial ideas" and foist tacit approval of his "socially repugnant concept" on his employer.^[86] More than 80%^[87] of University of Minnesota students disagreed with 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

• Crann, Tom (July 16, 2015). "For Mpls. couple, gay marriage ruling is a victory 43 years in the making". MPR News. Minnesota Public Radio News.
• Raphael, T. J. (June 25, 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

• Kessler, Pat (July 29, 2013). "A Rare Glimpse At Minn.'s 1st Gay Wedding In 1971". WCCO-TV, Minneapolis.
• "Halftime". Minnesota United FC. June 23, 2021.

Further reading

• Eckholm, Erik (May 16, 2015). "The Same-Sex Couple Who Got a Marriage License in 1971". The New York Times.
• Grunwald, Lisa (May 12, 2015). "The 25 Most Influential Marriages of All Time". Time.
• Pat Lyn McConnell (January 2014). "Who defined the gay agenda?" (PDF). Quatrefoil Library. p. 2.
• Bowes, Claire (July 4, 2013). "Jack Baker and Michael McConnell: Gay Americans who married in 1971". BBC News. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
• Frame, Robert (2012). "Minnesota Led the Two Coasts on Marriage Rights, and Should Do So Again: Jack Baker and Michael McConnell" (PDF). Quatrefoil Library. p. 5.
• Bronson, Ken (2004). "A Quest for Full Equality" (PDF). University of Minnesota Libraries.
• Lueck, Shane (November 12, 2015). "America's First Gay Marriage, 44 Years Later". Lavender Magazine.
• Memoir of Michael McConnell (2016) as told to Gail Langer Karwoski, "The Wedding Heard Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage.", Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Notes

1. 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.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Padnani, Amisha; Fang, Celina (June 26, 2015). "Same-Sex Marriage: Landmark Decisions and Precedents". The New York Times.
2. Baume, Matt (March 1, 2019). "Meet the Gay Men Whose 1971 Marriage Was Finally Recognized". The Advocate.
3. Sources: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" (binder #4), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
   • CONCLUSIONS OF LAW by Assistant Chief Judge Gregory Anderson (September 18, 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 University of Minnesota Libraries.
     • Posted online by Minnesota Judicial Branch. NOTE: To reach the document, it may be necessary to copy-and-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.
4. StoryCorps Archive (September 12, 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.
5. Newsletter (p. 6), "Hidden Treasures from the Stacks", September 2013; available online from The National Archives at Kansas City.
6. 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.
7. 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).
8. McConnel, Michael (November 2013). "Marriage – my childhood dream comes true" (PDF). Retrieved October 27, 2023. r. I was now ready to state what I wanted in a commitment: live openly and not repeat the mistakes of my previous relationships. I was in it for the long haul, whatever that took. I wanted marriage – not with 'secret' rings recognized by a circle of mostly closeted friends. Jack agreed to make it happen.
9. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 5a–e and 8c), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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.
10. Eckholm, Eric (May 16, 2015). "The Same-Sex Couple Who Got a Marriage License in 1971". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
11. See: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" [volumes 2c and 2d], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries
12. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volume 2ab), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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.
13. "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.]
14. Sources: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" (binder #3), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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".
15. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volumes 6a–b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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
16. Photo by staff, "The Voice of Maryville" (1957).
17. Gale Langer Karwoski, "The Wedding Heard 'Round The World", University of Minnesota Press (2016)
18. 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.
19. Bloomquist, Madison (December 18, 2015). "A pioneering couple". Southwest Journal.
20. Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004), page 2. available online from University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • At a party, in a barn, on farmland, near Norman (October 31, 1966).
21. Salam, Maya (June 4, 2019). "50 Years Later, What We Forgot About Stonewall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
22. York, Mailing Address: 26 Wall Street Federal Hall National Monument c/o Stonewall National Monument New; Us, NY 10005 Phone: [phone] Contact. "Stonewall National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
23. Sources: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" (Gift #13), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Binder #7: MEMORANDUM for the record (19 May 2021). Some credit New York City, as "the cradle of the modern LGBT rights movement". However, the Stonewall riots there were a response to police harassment and were neither "Gay Pride" celebrations nor demands for "gay marriage", both of which began in Minneapolis and spread from there.
      • "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 (February 29, 2012, re-posted on June 24, 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."
24. Office: 529 Cedar Avenue, in the Cedar Riverside Neighborhood of Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota's expanding campus on the West Bank of the Mississippi.
    • New course: K. A. Phelps, "The Homosexual Revolution", Bulletin No. 5 (May 18, 1969).
    • Source: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
25. 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.  . . .
26. 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".
27. 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
28. Lily Hansen, GAY, "F.R.E.E. At Last" (May 11, 1970), 13.
    • See also, the Introduction by Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004). Available online from University of Minnesota Libraries.
29. Press release – "Minnesota Hosts First Legally Sanctioned Same-Sex Marriage", Minnesota Student Association (September 7, 1971). See also: Press release – FREE (May 17, 1970).
    • Minneapolis church marks 52nd anniversary of first legally-recognized same-sex marriage in US history (September 3, 2023). Source: video by Jason Rantala, "52 Years Since Same-sex Marriage Milestone", posted online by CBS News Minnesota.
30. Wayne R. Dynes, "Homosexuality and Government, Politics and Prisons" (1992), 248; Available online, accessed February 7, 2012.
31. Press release – Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (November 1, 1969).
32. Merged later with the Columbia Queer Alliance.
33. Schumach, Murray (May 3, 1967). "Columbia Charters Homosexual Group" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
34. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 1a - d), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Letter to FREE from Vice President Gerry E. Morse, Honeywell Inc. (June 29, 1970). -> "We would not employ a known homosexual."
    • Anon., "Three big companies say they hire Gays", The Advocate (September 30, 1970).
    • Lars Bjornson, "A quiet win: Honeywell yields", The Advocate (April 10, 1974), 13.
35. 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."
36. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary", (volume 6a), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Profile of "Jack Baker", Minnesota Daily (March 9, 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.
37. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 6a - b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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.
38. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 6a - b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota 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 ?.
39. Student Representatives to the Board of Regents. Available online from the University of Minnesota website.
40. 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."
41. Sources: McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volume 8b), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
    • Star Tribune (June 1, 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."
42. Photo by Jim Chalgren (June 1973). Courtesy: Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
43. Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2004), p. 38. Available online from University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
44. Letter mailed to Jack Baker and others (February 11, 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 (March 12, 1973), 8.
45. 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" (September 30, 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."
46. Sources: McConnell Files (Gift #6), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Jack Star, "The Homosexual Couple," Look (January 26, 1971), 69–71.
    • Michael Durham, "Homosexuals in revolt", Life (December 31, 1971), 68.
47. Condon, Patrick (December 10, 2012). "Minn. gay couple in '71 marriage case still joined". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
48. Sasha Aslanian, "Video: Gay rights pioneers Jack Baker and Michael McConnell predicted marriage victory in '70s", MPRnews (May 16, 2013). Baker insisted, "We're gonna win eventually, not this time but maybe the next time around." Available online from Minnesota Public Radio.
49. David von Drehle, "Gay Marriage Already Won", Time (April 8, 2013), 22.
50. StoryCorps: search online for "How Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became husbands in 1971"; heard on National Public Radio, 'Morning Edition' (October 14, 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.
51. National History Day project crafted by Joseph Kase and Jeremiah Smith, 7th grade students at a public school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. (February 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. (August 18, 2020).
    • Sources: The McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" [volume 7e], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
52. Jack Baker, as told to Helen Barrett, "We had America's first gay marriage – in 1971" (August 7, 2015). Available online from the Financial Times Magazine.
53. Gerald R. Nelson, Clerk of District Court, Fourth Judicial District, which includes Hennepin County.
54. Associated Press, "Marriage Is Out", Kansas City Star (May 24, 1970), 30A.
    • and: "Gay Marriage Plea Is Denied", St. Paul Pioneer Press (November 19, 1970), 27.
    • also: "Court Won't Let Men Wed", The New York Times (January 10, 1971), 65.
55. Appellant's Jurisdictional Statement, Minnesota Supreme Court docket no. 71-1027, at 3–4. Essentially, they argued that "what is not forbidden is permitted".
56. 191 N.W.2d 185 (October 15, 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".
57. "Daily Record", Mankato Free Press (August 16, 1971), p. ?. Recorded in Mankato by the Clerk of District Court, Fifth Judicial District, which includes Blue Earth County.
58. Bob Protzman, "Gay Marriage OK Predicted", St. Paul Pioneer Press, p ? (October 22, 1971). "I am convinced", he said, "that same-sex marriages will be legalized in the United States."
59. Sources: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries
    • Jack Baker, "The right to be human and gay", Manitoban (March 13, 1972). As reprinted by Ken Bronson in "A Quest for Full Equality", page 69 (2004). Available online from University of Minnesota Libraries.
60. Mia Rabson, "Couple helped make history", Winnipeg Free Press, A4 (September 17, 2004).
    • Context: In 2003, a court of appeals in Canada legalized same-sex marriage in the province Ontario.

    • 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 (September 20, 2004) is posted online courtesy of the University of Minnesota'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.

61. Lavers, Michael K., "NAACP president: Marriage is civil rights issue of our times" Washington Blade (May 21, 2012); available online
62. Baker to Patrick Condon, "Gay couple in 1971 marriage ruling reflect on new court challenges", Associated Press
    • Reprinted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press (December 11, 2012), 3A+
63. Pat Kessler, "A Rare Glimpse At Minn.'s 1st Gay Wedding In 1971" (July 31, 2013). "What is believed to be the first same-sex marriage in the United States was performed in Minnesota", WCCO-TV / CBS; Minneapolis, MN.
    • see also: Naomi Pescovitz, "Pastor Reflects Back on Minn. Gay Marriage", KSTP-TV / Minneapolis, MN (May 16, 2013). Available online on YouTube.
    • and: Associated Press, "They're Mr. and Mr.", San Francisco Chronicle (September 8, 1971), 3
64. 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 University of Minnesota 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" (July 7, 2012). Available online from Tom's OSU.
65. 409 U.S. 810, 93 S.Ct. 37, 34 L.Ed.2d 65 (1972)
66. Greenhouse, Linda (March 20, 2013). "Wedding Bells". The 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. "Baker v. Nelson, Case # 71-1027". National Archives and Records Administration. October 10, 1972. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
69. "Homosexual Couple Contest I.R.S. Ban On a Joint Return", The New York Times (January 5, 1975), 55
70. 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 . . ."
71. "Form 1040 Instructions", page 19 (2005). Available online from the Internal Revenue Service.
72. Sources: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" [Binder #3], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • FINDINGS AND DECREE plus MEMORANDUM by Judge Lindsay G. Arthur (August 3, 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 (August 25, 1971), 1A.
    • And: Associated Press, "Male's adoption by roommate OKd", Rocky Mountain News, Denver (August 26, 1971), 85.
73. "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 June 6, 2021). Edited copy courtesy of University of Minnesota Libraries
74. Claire Bowes, "Jack Baker and Michael McConnell: Gay Americans who married in 1971" (July 3, 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.
75. Anon., "Homosexual Wins Fight to Take Bar Examination in Minnesota", New York Times (January 7, 1973), 55. "Thus the marriage remained in effect."
76. Bureau of National Affairs, "Gay married couple frustrated in adoption bid", The Family Law Reporter (December 10, 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).
77. Professor Thomas Kraemer [Oregon State University], "Gay marriage discussion in 1953 vs. 1963 and today" (December 16, 2013). Available online from Tom's OSU
78. Sources: McConnell Files, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality" (2002), page 32. Available online from University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Press release – "Gay Machine Startles DFL Regulars", DFL Gay Rights Caucus (June 9, 1972).
    • Resolution 71.d, "The 1972 DFL Platform", Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor State Central Committee at Rochester, MN (June 9–11, 1972).
79. "McConnell v. United States, January 3, 2005" (PDF). US District Court for Minnesota. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
    • "McConnell v. United States, July 17, 2006" (PDF). 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Retrieved March 21, 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
80. Parloff, Roger (January 18, 2015). "12 key moments that led to the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage case". Fortune.
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, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • Letter from Ralph H. Hopp, University Librarian, University of Minnesota, mailed to Michael McConnell (27 April 1970).
    • Letter from James F. Hogg, Secretary, Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, delivered to Michael McConnell (July 10, 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 (July 16, 1970), 1.
84. Source: "McConnell v. Anderson, 316 F.Supp. 809 (D. Minn. 1970)". Justia Law. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    • Bob Lundegaard, "University Ordered to Hire Homosexual", Minneapolis Tribune (September 10, 1970), 23.
85. Source: "McConnell v. Anderson, 41F.2d193 (October 18, 1971)". OpenJurist. F2d (451): 193. October 18, 1971. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
    • Anon., "Homosexual Wins a Suit over Hiring", The New York Times (September 20, 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", University of Minnesota (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" (November 30, 2010). Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
89. Sources: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage", Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
    • "News", University News Service (June 22, 2012). "University of Minnesota 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 <[e-mail]> to Logan Chelmo [Shakopee High School, class of 2018] (June 25, 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 (February 17, 2020).