The Wedding Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage

The Wedding Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage

The Wedding Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage

The Wedding Heard 'Round the World: America's First Gay Marriage

eBook

$17.49  $22.95 Save 24% Current price is $17.49, Original price is $22.95. You Save 24%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

On September 3, 1971, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker exchanged vows in the first legal same-sex wedding in the United States. Their remarkable story is told here for the first time—a unique account of the passion and energy of the gay liberation movement in the sixties and seventies. 
 
At the dawn of the modern gay movement (while New York’s Stonewall riots and San Francisco’s emerging political activism bloomed), these two young men insisted on making their commitment a legal reality. They were already crusaders for gay rights: Jack had twice been elected the University of Minnesota’s student president—the first openly gay university student president in the country, an election reported by Walter Cronkite on network TV news. They were featured in Look magazine’s special issue about the American family and received letters of support from around the world.
 
The couple navigated complex procedures to obtain a state-issued marriage license. Their ceremony was conducted by a Methodist minister in a friend’s tiny Minneapolis apartment. Wearing matching white pantsuits, exchanging custom-designed rings, and sharing a tiered wedding cake, Michael and Jack celebrated their historic marriage. After reciting their vows, they sealed their promise to love and honor each other with a kiss and a signed marriage certificate.
 
Repercussions were immediate: Michael’s job offer at the University of Minnesota was rescinded, leading him to wage a battle against job discrimination with the help of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. The couple eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court with two precedent-setting cases. 
 
Michael and Jack have retired from the public spotlight, but after four decades their marriage is still their joy and comfort. Living quietly in a Minneapolis bungalow, they exemplify a contemporary version of the American dream. Only now, with marriage equality in the headlines and the Supreme Court decision to make love the law of the land, are they willing to tell the entire story of their groundbreaking experiences. TIME magazine listed the twenty-five most influential marriages of all time and included Michael and Jack, and they were recently profiled in a cover story in the Sunday New York Times. Their long campaign for marriage equality and insistence on equal rights for all citizens is a model for advocates of social justice and an inspiration for everyone who struggles for acceptance in a less-than-equal world.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781452950266
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Publication date: 01/01/2016
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 200
File size: 10 MB

About the Author

Michael McConnell and Jack Baker are America’s first legally married gay couple. They were married in Minneapolis in September 1971 in a small ceremony officiated by a Methodist minister, with an official license issued by a rural Minnesota county. They met in 1966 in Norman, Oklahoma. In 2010, Michael retired from the Hennepin County Library and Jack retired from his careers in law and engineering. They live in Minneapolis.
 

Gail Langer Karwoski is an author and educator based in Athens, Georgia. She met Michael McConnell and Jack Baker in 1972, the year after they were married. She is the author of many books for young readers, most recently When Hurricane Katrina Hit Home.

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

1 Dancing 1

2 Romancing 13

3 Military Maneuvers 25

4 Forcing the Air Force to Fly Fair 37

5 Jack Moves Away 47

6 FREE 55

7 The Right to Marry 65

8 The Right to Work 75

9 Gay House 83

10 New Year, Lots of Resolutions 95

11 Mister President 107

12 Short Trip to Blue Earth 115

13 Groom and Groom 123

14 The Highest Court in the Land 131

15 Married Life 143

16 Back Roads 153

17 Ever After 163

Epilogue 169

Acknowledgments 183

Index 185

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews