[13] On October 15, 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Baker v. Nelson affirmed a court clerk's refusal on May 22, 1970[14] to issue them a marriage license in Hennepin County for the sole reason that it would undermine "the entire legal concept of our family structure in all areas of law"[15] (despite this not being identified in Minnesota law[16] as a reason for prohibiting such a marriage).

[10] After graduating from Norman High School, he attended the University of Oklahoma (OU), ending with a Master of Library Science degree in June 1968.

While on active duty (four years) in the U.S. Air Force, Baker was accepted in the Airmen Education Commissioning Program and stationed at OU, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.

[12] In 1969, weeks before the Stonewall riots in New York City,[29][30][31] Koreen Phelps recruited local friends to join her outreach program sponsored by Minnesota Free University.

[35] Moving aggressively and openly, FREE played a significant role in making Minneapolis a prominent center for the LGBTQ+ community[36] with members soon endorsing McConnell's dream of same-sex marriage[13] and assisting activists "to gain visibility and legitimacy"[37] at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

[34] Thom Higgins, Prime Archon of the Church of the Chosen People, crafted Gay Pride[31] for the banner that would lead the crowd as it encouraged allies, supporters and bystanders to punish[49] Leo Christopher Byrne, the Catholic archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, for his public opposition to homosexuality.

[66] Speaking to members of the Ramsey County Bar Association, Baker argued that same-sex unions are "not only authorized by the U.S. Constitution" but are mandatory.

[67] Later, Baker spoke[68] at the University of Winnipeg, which activist Richard North credited as the start of a "fight [by same-sex couples in Canada] to be married"[69] legally.

In 2012, after Ben Jealous, then president of the NAACP, called same-sex marriage the "civil rights issue of our times",[70] Baker stated that "the conclusion was intuitively obvious to a first-year law student.

[80] Undaunted, McConnell listed Baker as an adopted "child" on his tax returns for which he received a deduction as head of household from 1974 through 2004.

[81] After McConnell adopted Baker,[82][83] he re-applied in Blue Earth County and received a marriage license,[66] which "was never revoked".

Roger Lynn, a minister from the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, validated[84] the marriage contract at a private home in Minneapolis.

[86] The Family Law Reporter argued in 1974 that Baker v. Nelson[a] could not annul a marriage contract that was validated "a full six weeks" before the decision was filed.

[89] When Baker enrolled as a law student in late 1969, he began pursuing his promise to obtain a legal right to marry.

After the wedding ceremony was held on September 3, 1971, they were often invited to appear and speak at colleges, schools, businesses and churches in the U.S. and Canada.

[9] The couple obtained a valid marriage license before the rejection in Hennepin County was appealed to and accepted[a] by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Though that case ended in 1972, "for want of a substantial federal question",[75] other challenges followed as they pursued affirmation of their union while living openly as a married couple.

In 2003, Baker and McConnell amended their individual tax returns for the year 2000, filing jointly as a couple, offering proof of a valid marriage license from Blue Earth County.

"[94] The court concluded in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples had a right to marry, overturning Baker v. Nelson, which had been accepted as precedent.

Instead, it ruled that McConnell was to blame for wanting to implement his "controversial ideas" and foist tacit approval of his "socially repugnant concept" on his employer.

[103] In 2012, University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler offered McConnell a personal apology for the "reprehensible"[104] treatment endured from the board of regents in 1970.