Keeping Up With Zoe

 

      In 1970 one year after the legendary Stonewall Riots two men, law student Richard Baker and librarian James McConnell had applied for a marriage license in Minnesota. Clerk Gerald Nelson rejected their application because they were a same-sex couple. Baker and McConnell appealed, but the state Supreme Court affirmed the trial judge’s decision in 1971 in Baker v. Nelson. When the couple appealed yet again, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 declined to hear the case this ruling effectively blocked federal courts from ruling on same-sex marriage for decades, leaving the decision solely in the hands of states . In 1973, Maryland became the first state to create a law that explicitly defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, a belief held by many conservative religious groups and other states quickly followed suit.                        What is marriage? Marriage establishes rights and...