PHOTO: ABC Good Morning America TV weatherman Sam Champion is married to Rubem Robierb (top) and later congratulated by his GMA co-hosts while on the air (center) Dec. 24, 2012 at 7:00 AM. Champion then walks over to report the weather conditions across the U.S (bottom) including a 3 degree (actual not wind chill) temperature in the City of Minneapolis, which coincidentally is the home of the gay marriage pioneer Jack Baker, who was married in 1970. (See Andrea Mandell, "'GMA' anchor Sam Champion marries his partner.The couple will follow up with a bigger bash in Miami on New Year's Eve," USA Today, Dec. 21, 2012 and Patrick Condon, "Jack Baker And Michael McConnell, Couple In 1971 Minnesota Gay Marriage Case, Still United," huffingtonpost.com posted Dec. 10, 2012)
Having witnessed the gay marriage of Jack Baker in 1970, it was especially heartwarming for me to witness Sam Champion's marriage in 2012 on Good Morning America, a TV show I starting watching when it first went on the air. (See previous post Magnus Hirschfeld, Jack Baker, University of Minnesota and Oregon State University gay connection (1/21/12) plus piece by Patrick Condon, "Jack Baker And Michael McConnell, Couple In 1971 Minnesota Gay Marriage Case, Still United," huffingtonpost.com posted Dec. 10, 2012)
PHOTO: May 18, 1970 Michael McConnell and Jack Baker were married by Hennepin County Minnesota Justice of the Peace. See previous post Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08).
PHOTO: the first court case on same-sex marriage was initiated by University of Minnesota law student Jack Baker in 1970: Baker et al. v. Nelson, Oct. 10, 1972, "United States Reports, Volume 409, Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court, October Term, 1972," U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974, p. 810. The Appeal was "dismissed for want of a substantial federal question." Notice how this same phrase was used to dismiss scads of other cases. The court seemed to be using it as shorthand to say a case was a matter of state law and not federal law. See previous post Baker v. Nelson 1972 Supreme Court order on gay marriage (7/22/09)
See Thomas Kraemer's previous blog posts on Jack Baker and gay marriage activism:
- Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08) -- a mass circulation magazine features Jack Baker's gay marriage
- Newsweek gay marriage religious case (12/10/08)
- Sunday paper gay marriage advice (1/12/09)
- Jack Baker gay marriage theory was right (4/28/09)
- Obama wrong on Baker v. Nelson gay marriage case (6/13/09)
- Jack Baker GAY cover 1971 (7/18/09)
- Baker v. Nelson 1972 Supreme Court order on gay marriage (7/22/09)
- Jack Baker 1971 Look magazine gay marriage story (7/23/09)
- Arthur S. Leonard on Baker v Nelson gay marriage case (7/28/09)
- Jack Baker case still cited to bar gay marriage (3/12/11)
- Gay marriage pioneer Jack Baker starts blog (confirmed) (4/4/12)
Although Jack Baker was the first person to champion (pardon the pun) gay marriage, the Rev. Troy Perry also helped to promote the concept by performing religious marriage ceremonies for gay couples. Perry's religious past and potential future contribution to gays and religion was discussed in a recent article by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press, "Do gays need a church of their own anymore?" printed in Gazette-Times, Jan. 2, 2013, p. A8, posted on usnews.com Jan. 1, 2013.
PHOTO: Reverend Troy Perry of the Metropolitan Community Church conducting a same-sex marriage ceremony in 1971. Google photo collection from article "Homosexuals in revolt: The year that one liberation movement turned militant," Life Magazine, Dec. 31, 1971, p. 70. (See my previous post Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08))
