We proudly salute the icons and unsung heroes who spearheaded the drive for marriage equality. Plus: Where the new battle lines are being drawn.
Photo courtesy of Steve Jennings/Bravo
In honor of the first anniversary of national marriage quality, we’ve compiled a list some of the best-known and least celebrated heroes of the movement — from early pioneers like Frank Kameny to superstar supporters like Kathy Griffin.
Jack Baker and Michael McConnell
When Minneapolis couple Jack Baker and Michael McConnell were denied a marriage license in 1971, they changed Baker’s first name to “Pat Lyn McConnell” and got married by a Methodist minister in a different county — becoming recognized as America’s first (somewhat) legally married couple.
Beyoncé
Mrs. Carter showed support for marriage equality during Supreme Court hearings on Prop 8, posting a handwritten note on Instagram that said “If you like it you should be able to put a ring on it. #wewillunite4marriageequality!
Rea Carey
As the Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, Carey was instrumental in winning marriage equality through grassroots campaigns, including pushing for the U.S. Census Bureau to record married same-sex couples in the 2010 census.
Kevin Cathcart
Since 1992, Kevin Cathcart has been the Executive Director of Lambda Legal. Under his leadership the organization helped to keep Colorado’s Amendment 2 from taking effect, to strike down sodomy laws via Lawrence v. Texas, and to make Iowa the first the first state in the Midwest to offer marriage equality.
Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal
Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres married Portia de Rossi in 2008 during the brief period before the right to marry in California was interrupted by Prop 8. Her immense popularity has made them a poster couple for marriage equality for many Americans.
Sarah Kate Ellis
As President and CEO of GLAAD, Ellis has been instrumental in shaping the conversation about marriage equality, celebrating the Supreme Court decision, saying: “Today, love prevailed and our nation became a more perfect union by affirming that all people are indeed created equal and justice belongs to everyone.”
Photo courtesy of GLAAD
Chad Griffin
As President of HRC, Griffin oversees our largest national LGBT civil rights organization. After Prop 8, Griffin helped found the American Foundation for Equal Rights with attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies to challenge California’s ban on gay marriage in federal court.
Photo courtesy of Washingtonpost/gettyimages
Kathy Griffin
Griffin has been an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, even going door-to-door for the LA LGBT Center’s “Vote for Equality” campaign, asking the people of Los Angeles to vote in favor of equality and LGBT rights.
Frank Kameny
Sometimes called the “Rosa Parks” of the LGBT civil rights movement, Kameny was fired as a government astronomer in 1957 because of his sexual orientation. His appeal of that decision was the first national petition to a high court for a violation of human rights based on sexual orientation. Nearly a decade before the Stonewall Riots, Kameny publicly called the policy that led to his dismissal “grossly inconsistent with the fundamental precepts upon which this government is based.”
Roberta Kaplan
Kaplan argued her way to victory in U.S. v. Windsor, the Supreme Court case that ruled DOMA unconstitutional. President Bill Clinton has said, “United States v. Windsor was a landmark ruling, and the case’s architect, Roberta Kaplan, emerged as a true American hero.”
Madonna
Madonna has been promoting respect for the gay community since the ‘80s. In June 2011, she encouraged fans: “Tell your state Congressmen to support same sex marriage. … All you need is love.” She continues to rally her fans at concerts and through social media.
Gavin Newsom
Newsom made a major mark on LGBT rights in 2004 as the mayor of San Francisco when he gave the San Francisco city clerk orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
President Barack Obama
In May 2012, President Obama announced his support for full marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. In an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, President Obama stated: “I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.” When marriage equality passed, Obama called the decision “a victory for America.”
Photo courtesy of the White House
Jim Obergefell
In the pursuit of recognition for his marriage to John Arthur, Jim Obergefell became the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges that led to legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the nation.
Edie Windsor
U.S. v. Windsor provided one of the most influential legal precedents in the fight for marriage equality. Windsor brought suit when the IRS attempted to charge her hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes after the death of her spouse Dr. Thea Spyer. For her efforts a trailblazer for LGBT rights, Windsor has been recognized with the LGBT Community Center Trailblazer Award, the Susan B. Anthony Award, a Presidential Medal from NYU, the Trailblazer of Democracy Award, and the Laura Hestel Award, among others.
Chuck Wolfe
Wolfe served as the President and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a political committee dedicated to growing the number of openly LGBT elected officials in the United States. The organization was instrumental in creating visibility for the LGBT community and promoting politicians like the first LGBT U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin.
Evan Wolfson
Founder and president of Freedom to Marry, Wolfson was essential in designing the movement that led to nationwide marriage equality. He served as co-counsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case that launched a global movement for freedom to marry, directed Lambda Legal’s Marriage Project throughout the ‘90s and created the National Freedom to Marry Coalition.
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Last modified: June 22, 2018
