The Marriage Inclusion Act was an executive order that legalised same-sex marriage in the United States. It was passed through the actions of President Ellen Wilson in 1998.[1] who was the first female and lesbian US politician as president.
History[]
Background[]
The gay/lesbian community in the United States had long been repressed and stigmatized through actions such as a ban on same-sex attracted people being able to serve in the military or government agencies such as NASA. This extended to investigations by federal authorities being carried out on members suspected to be gay or lesbian.[2][3] This did not mean that these people did not work in these professions, with NASA engineer Larry Wilson and astronaut Ellen Waverly marrying in 1974 to avoid detection.[4]
In 1992 Ellen, now going by Ellen Wilson, wins the 1992 United States presidential election, although Larry and herself are still hiding their true orientation.[5] This is threatened in 1995 when a White House staffer tells a friend of his affair with Larry.[3] This news is then leaked, leading to a potential political scandal if it comes out publicly.[6]
Complicating matters is astronaut Will Tyler publicly coming out as gay in a video message from Mars. Due to Tyler still being a member of the US Army, he faces dismissal from the service due to the continuing ban on gay service personal. President Wilson institutes "Don't ask, don't tell", which forbids anyone from asking a members sexual orientation, but still allows for dismissal if they voluntarily report it.[3]
In a press conference in September 1995, Larry is expected to admit his sexuality and his affair, while Ellen will say she did not know. Instead, President Wilson publicly comes out as lesbian. In doing so, she is also able to confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tyler, as she removes restrictions on service due to sexual orientation. Her coming out results in great controversy and calls for impeachment, but leads to overall greater recognition of gay rights in the United States.[7][8]
Passing of the Marriage Inclusion Act[]
Due to the support of her Secretary of State, George H. W. Bush, Ellen again wins the Republican nomination and is reelected at the 1996 United States presidential election. Now living with her partner Pam Horton, she manages to enshrine the Marriage Inclusion Act in 1998, legalising same-sex marriage in the United States.[1]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
In reality, same-sex marriage in the United States was only fully recognised in 2015 due to the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the right to marriage in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges. The first state to recognise same-sex marriage was Massachusetts in 2004. In contrast to the show's 1998 passing of the Marriage Inclusion Act, the Clinton administration passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, limiting marriage to one man and one woman. The Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and provided same-sex marriage codification similar to the Marriage Includion Act of the series, was only passed in 2022 out of concerns stemming from the overturning of Roe v. Wade in our reality.
"Don't ask, don't tell" was also brought into law by the Clinton administration in 1994 and it would take until 2011 to be overturned, finally allowing LGBTQI+ service members to openly serve. as of 2025, there are nearly 85,000 active LGBT personnel in the OTL.
In the FAM universe, Ellen Wilson is the first female US president, and the first of LGBT orientation, in the OTL, no politicians have confirmed to be of LGBT status, nor there were any females running or being president, with the exception of Democrat Party members Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2020-2024
As of 2024, there have only been three openly LGBTQI+ astronauts, Sally Ride, Wendy Lawrence and Anne McClain. There have been no openly gay male astronauts.
See also[]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 For All Mankind TV series, season 4, episode 1, "Glasnost"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 1, episode 6, "Home Again"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 6, "New Eden"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 1, episode 7, "Hi Bob"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 3, "All In"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 7, "Bring It Down"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 9, "Coming Home"
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 10, "Stranger in a Strange Land"