Marriage rights no longer seen as extremist issue
In 1970, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell went to the county clerk's office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to get a marriage license. When they were turned down because they are both men, Baker sued, lost, appealed and lost. Gay activists at the time said pursuing marriage rights would only antagonize the non-gay public; only the "lunatic fringe" could be interested in something like marriage. But then the world changed. Two factors that affected how same-sex couples saw themselves and their families were a big part of that change: the emergence of HIV/AIDS and a lesbian baby boom.
Newsday
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