美国国家公共电台 NPR--How Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became husbands in 1971

How Jack¹ Baker² and Michael McConnell became husbands in 1971

Transcript³

In this week's StoryCorps, we hear from two gay men who managed to get married in 1971 — long before same-sex marriage was legal.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Time now for StoryCorps. Jack Baker and Michael McConnell are two names you probably never heard of. In the early 1970s, they wanted to get married, but same-sex marriage was not yet legal in Minnesota. Baker and McConnell sued the state and appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme⁴ Court. The justices declined to hear their case, but they managed to get married anyway after Baker and McConnell found a legal loophole.

JACK BAKER: Our marriage was the first such union to be recorded in public files of any civil government, and it became the first legal gay marriage.

MARTINEZ: Jack and Michael came to StoryCorps to remember their perseverance⁵ and how their relationship began.

MICHAEL MCCONNELL: I was at a Halloween barn party in Norman, Okla. And my close and very dear friend said, there's someone here I want you to meet; you two were destined⁶ for each other. I kind of rolled my eyes. And he said, no, really.

BAKER: At the time, I was looking for the four Ts - tall, thin and 23. I was 24 and thought perhaps time had passed me by. But there was the four Ts standing⁷ right there in front of me, and so I was quite excited. We talked and chatted. And he was one of the people - few people that had a brain in his head. So I wanted to see more of him after that.

MCCONNELL: My mother, she had told me that I have the same rights as anybody else. And so when Jack asked me to be his lover, I said, well, if you're willing to find a way for us to get married, I will commit to you.

BAKER: And so that's when I said, well, I'm going to have to find a way to go to law school. And that's where it all started.

MCCONNELL: One of the things that Jack discovered in law school is that there are many ways to accomplish what you really want to do in the legal system. We thought, let's change Jack's name. Let's make it gender⁸ neutral. So we changed Jack's name to Pat Lynn McConnell. And the license⁹ was issued. We went to a friend who was registered with the state to perform marriages and asked him to perform our marriage, which he did. That was September 3, 1971. Our rings have a particular, very powerful meaning for me. When our rings are put together, it says Jack loves Mike. And then you reverse the sides, and it says, Mike loves Jack.

BAKER: We got quite a bit of criticism, and very few people were actually supporting us. But I figured, well, history would speak for itself.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTINEZ: That's Jack Baker and his husband, Michael McConnell, for StoryCorps. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples do, in fact, have a constitutional right to marry. Their interview is archived at the Library of Congress.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

6 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。