kvetchlandia:Charlotte Brooks Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, the first Gay Cou
kvetchlandia:Charlotte Brooks Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, the first Gay Couple to Legally Marry in the United States, at Home, Shaving Together, Minneapolis 1970Until I encountered this photo, I had never heard of Jack Baker and Michael McConnell. I had to do a little research, since I wondered how a gay couple could legally marry as early as 1970 in a country as backward as the United States. Turns out that Baker and McConnell were gay activists at the University of Minnesota. They wished to marry and in doing a little research, they discovered that gay marriage was not explicitly forbidden under Minnesota law. So, they went to the county clerk’s office and applied for a marriage license. They were, of course, turned down. They then went to court, arguing that which was not legally forbidden was by definition legally permitted. They won their case, were granted a marriage license, became legally married and immediately thereafter, the state of Minnesota added marriage between same sex couples to their list of forbidden unions. -- source link
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