Molly B. McKay (born September 9, 1970) is an American attorney and a civil rights activist for

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

individuals. McKay was the former Co-Executive Director of

Marriage Equality California Marriage Equality California (Marriage Equality CA, or MECA) is the now defunct California chapter of Marriage Equality USA. Founded in 1999, MECA was the grassroots organization fighting to secure the legal recognition of same-sex marriage throu ...

and the former Media Director for Marriage Equality USA. She has also been active in Californians for Same Sex Marriage and the California Freedom to Marry Coalition, and was the Associate Executive Director of Equality California. McKay married her longtime partner

Davina Kotulski ''Why You Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage'' is a 2004 book by Davina Kotulski in which the author advocates the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. It received generally positive reviews in the LGBT press. Summary Kotulski states that h ...

in 2004 when

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

made same sex marriage legal for one day in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

LGBT activism

Beginning in February 2001, McKay and her ex-wife,

, began going to city halls in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

asking for

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

s and organizing annual "Marriage License Counter" protests to draw attention to the hundreds of rights same-sex couples are denied. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, marriage licenses are commonly issued at the local city hall, or office of government for the municipality, with a city employee on one side of a counter, and the applicant on the other side. In response to having her

Marriage License invalidated, McKay joined her ex-wife Kotulski in organizing the "

Marriage Equality Express The Marriage Equality Caravan, or Marriage Equality Express, was an educational bus tour organized by the California chapter of Marriage Equality USA, in response to the invalidation by the California Supreme Court, on August 11, 2004, of 4,000 s ...

", an educational bus tour across the United States that culminated in the first national

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

rally in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, on October 11, 2004. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazines included the rally when citing the importance of same-sex marriage activism as one of the top ten issues of 2004. Molly McKay co-founded Marriage Equality California in 2004, along with several other activists, and continues to work with Marriage Equality USA. When Marriage Equality California merged with

Equality California Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California. It is the largest statewide LGBT organization in the United States and the largest member of the Equality Federation ...

in 2004, McKay led the Marriage Equality Project for the joint organization becoming Equality California's Field Director. McKay eventually left the organization in 2006 to rejoin Marriage Equality California's prior parent organization Marriage Equality USA.

Legal marriage and separation

McKay and her ex-wife, Kotulski, were the 17th same-sex couple married in San Francisco in 2004 and have appeared together on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''Time'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. They are featured in three documentaries, the 2005 Carmen Goodyear- and Laurie York-directed ''

Freedom to Marry Freedom to Marry was the national bipartisan organization dedicated to winning marriage for same-sex couples in the United States. Freedom to Marry was founded in New York City in 2003 by Evan Wolfson. Wolfson served as president of the organiz ...

'' (shown in seven countries and featured on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

), the

Geoff Callan ''Pursuit of Equality'' is a 2005 American documentary film directed by Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw, about the struggle of same-sex couples for marriage equality in the United States. Its focus is mostly on the same-sex marriages performed in San ...

and Mike Shaw 2007 release, '' Pursuit of Equality'', and ''I Will, I Do, We Did'' following the San Francisco marriages that took place in 2004. They have also appeared on several television shows including ''American Quest'', documenting the National "

", and a '' Queer Nation'' TV special in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In June 2011 McKay announced that she and Kotulski had separated, ending their 15-year relationship.

Leadership awards

In 2003, McKay and her ex-wife received the "Defenders of Love" Award from the East Bay Pride Committee, and in 2004, she received the "Saints Alive" award from the San Francisco Metropolitan Community Church and was "sainted" by the

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI) is a charity, protest, and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance and satirizes issue ...

for her activism and advocacy for same-sex marriage. In 2006, Kotulski and McKay received the Michael "Switzer Leadership Award" from New Leaf Counseling Center in San Francisco. Molly McKay has been recognized for her individual contributions as well. She received the Harvey Milk Democratic Club Community Service Award (2005), the Alice B. Toklas Community Service Award (2008), and GLOBE Community Service Award (2008).

Marriage Equality Caravan

San Francisco Chronicle articles on Marriage Equality Caravan: *October 5, 2004 "Taking gay marriage on the road Same-sex couples, supporters embark on bus trip across country" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 6, 2004 "Battle over Same-Sex Marriage" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 7, 2004 "A Grim Anniversary" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 8, 2004 "Tension Grips Caravan" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 9, 2004 "Freedom Riders Loaded with Tech" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 10, 2004 "Marriage rights caravan gets lots of 'no thanks' from gays along road." Marriage Equality Caravan *October 11, 2004 "Canvassing the nation for gay marriage rights Activists visit home towns en route to D.C. rally today" Marriage Equality Caravan *October 12, 2004 "Marriage equality caravan joins spirited rally in D.C.Tired but happy, couples renew vows" Marriage Equality Caravan and Marriage Equality DC Rally

References

* http://www.washblade.com/print.cfm?content_id=2122 (February 6, 2004) * https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1674572 (February 13, 2004) * https://web.archive.org/web/20070825132422/http://www.ephemera.org/archives/346.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20060716021053/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=0&f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2004%2F02%2F13%2FMNGNH509QT1.DTL * http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/02/14/16703031.php * http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-celebration16-2008may16,0,2254757.story * Interview with Molly McKay (February 14, 2004) - http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20354376_ITM * Los Angeles Times’ Rights vs. Obligations of Marriage (February 19, 2004) - http://articles.latimes.com/2004/feb/19/local/me-marriage19 * Senate kills gay marriage ban / Activists hail defeat of constitutional amendment—backers vow to try again (July 15, 2004) - http://www.sfchroniclemarketplace.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2004/07/15/MNGKE7LMNO1.DTL&o=0&type=printable

2005

* Berkeley Daily Planet's Commentary: Jerry Brown's Wedding Highlights The Need for Marriage Equality (June 28, 2005) - http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2005-06-28/article/21727?headline=Commentary-Jerry-Brown-s-Wedding-Highlights-The-Need-for-Marriage-Equality-By-MOLLY-McKAY * Judge Strikes Down Same-Sex Marriage Ban (March 14, 2005)- http://www.zimbio.com/Molly+McKay/pictures/pro * Remember San Francisco's gay marriages? Forget it (August 12, 2004) - http://www.boingboing.net/2004/08/12/remember-san-francis.html

2007

* Pride at Work's Longshoremen Grant Retroactive Pension Benefits to Surviving Domestic Partner (August 23, 2007) - https://web.archive.org/web/20071030002827/http://prideatwork.org/page.php?id=533

2008

* San Francisco Chronicle's Bay Area demonstrations condemn Prop. 8 (November 15, 2008) - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/15/BAIA145AQ9.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1 * New York Times’ Gay Marriage Ban Inspires New Wave of Activists (December 9, 2008) - https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/us/10marriage.html * San Francisco Chronicle's Same-sex marriage backers hit Capitol, churches (November 10, 2008) - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/11/10/MN4E141B3P.DTL&o=1 * USA Today's Gay couples rush to wed ahead of Calif. Election (October 14, 2008) - https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-14-3874612028_x.htm * California Chronicle's ELLEN DEGENERES COMMENDED BY MARRIAGE EQUALITY (October 3, 2008) - https://web.archive.org/web/20090122081304/http://californiachronicle.com/articles/view/76349 * Boston Edge's Same-sex marriage pioneer Del Martin dies at 87 (August 27, 2008) - http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc3=&id=79529&pf=1 One Month Anniversary Of Marriage In California (July 20, 2008) - https://web.archive.org/web/20090122060101/http://blog.protectmarriageequality.com/2008/07/20/one-month-anniversary-of-marriage-in-california/ * CBS News’ Census Won't Report Gay Marriage (July 18, 2008) - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/18/national/main4271220.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4271220 * Miami Herald's Census won't recognize gay marriages in 2010 count (July 2008) - http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/07/census-wont-rec.html * USA Today's Gay couples tie the knot in California (June 16, 2008) - https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-16-gaymarriage_N.htm#uslPageReturn * San Francisco Sentinel's ACROSS CALIFORNIA, SAME-SEX COUPLES MAKE CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY (June 16, 2008) - http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13908 * The Hole In The Quilt And A Historic Moment (May 30, 2008) - http://www.orato.com/current-events/2008/05/30/hole-quilt-and-historic-moment * Video California Supreme Court Ruling: Same-Sex Marriage (May 26, 2008) http://www.orato.com/current-events/2008/05/26/california-supreme-court-ruling-same-sex-marriage * The Constitutionality of Prop. 22 (February 28, 2008) - http://cityonahillpress.com/article.php?id=1072

2009

* Lavender Newswire (January 5, 2009) - http://news.lavenderliberal.com/2009/01/05/marriage-equality-usa-releases-first-report-summarizing-failures-of-no-on-8-campaign/

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20170920001216/http://pursuitofequality.com/, Award-winning documentary about same-sex marriage in San Francisco * http://www.freedomtomarry.tv {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Molly 1970 births Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area American women lawyers California Democrats LGBT rights activists from the United States Living people Lawyers from San Francisco 21st-century American women