Jack Baker and Michael McConnell
Jack Baker | |
|---|---|
Baker in 2016 | |
| Born | Richard John Baker March 10, 1942 |
| Other names | Pat Lyn McConnell |
| Education | University of Minnesota Law School (1972) Oklahoma City University (1968) University of Oklahoma (1965) Maryville Academy (1959) |
| Known for | First same-sex couple to have been married legally, followed by others from Minnesota, elsewhere in the United States and several countries. |
| Spouse |
Michael McConnell (m. 1971) |
Richard John Baker and James Michael McConnell are the first same-sex couple in United States history known to have obtained a marriage license and have their marriage solemnized, which occurred on September 3, 1971.
The couple met in 1966. On March 10, 1967 – Baker's 25th birthday – McConnell agreed to be "his lover" but only if it meant "a commitment . . . for the long haul," living openly as a married couple. That commitment continued long after "52 Years Since Same-sex Marriage Milestone".
On October 15, 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Baker v. Nelson affirmed a court clerk's refusal on May 22, 1970 to issue them a marriage license in Hennepin County for the sole reason that it would undermine "the entire legal concept of our family structure in all areas of law" (despite this not being identified in Minnesota law as a reason for prohibiting such a marriage). Their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 1971 was accepted but later dismissed on October 10, 1972. Though the "precise issue" was not disclosed, their marriage contract, lawfully obtained but never invalidated, affected the decision.
On September 18, 2018, a district court judge in Blue Earth County declared "The [1971] marriage . . . to be in all respects valid" and ordered the Clerk of Court to record it.