Kate Kelly (feminist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kate Kelly
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Kate Kelly in 2024.
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| Born | 1980/1981 (age 44–45) Arizona, U.S.
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| Education | Brigham Young University (BA) American University (JD) |
| Occupation | Human rights lawyer |
| Known for | Founder of Ordain Women | Equal Rights Amendment advocate |
| Spouse(s) |
J. Neil Ransom
(m. 2006; div. 2016) |
Kathleen Marie Kelly, known as Kate Kelly, is an American activist and human rights lawyer. She is famous for starting a group called Ordain Women. This group works to allow women to become leaders, or priests, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Kelly is also a well-known supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This is a proposed change to the U.S. Constitution to guarantee equal legal rights for all citizens, no matter their gender.
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Early Life and Schooling
Kate Kelly was born in Arizona to Jim and Donna Kelly. She grew up in Hood River, Oregon, with four siblings. Her parents both joined the LDS Church as adults. Her mother is a lawyer, and her father worked as a newspaper publisher. He also served as a bishop, a local leader in the church.
Kelly went to Brigham Young University (BYU) and earned a degree in political science in 2006. While at BYU, she organized a student protest for free speech. After graduating, she wrote for a publication called The Mormon Worker.
In 2012, Kelly earned a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Career as an Advocate
Throughout her career, Kelly has worked for many groups that fight for human rights. She hosts a podcast called Ordinary Equality. She also wrote a book with the same title about the women who have fought for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Fighting for Women in the Church
In May 2013, Kelly started the group Ordain Women. The group's goal is to convince the LDS Church to allow women to be ordained to the priesthood. This would let women hold leadership positions that are currently only open to men.
Church leaders asked Kelly to stop her work with Ordain Women. When she continued, she was excommunicated in June 2014. Excommunication means she was no longer a member of the church. She tried to appeal this decision, but her appeals were not successful.
Even after this, Kelly encouraged her supporters to stay in the church and continue to work for change. She often says, “equality is not a feeling.” She means that gender equality is something real that can be measured, not just a personal feeling.
Champion for the Equal Rights Amendment
Kelly is a strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that says rights cannot be denied because of a person's gender.
In 2012, she attended her first ERA rally. She later helped restart a group called Mormons for ERA. In 2017, she helped write a proposal for Utah to approve the ERA. The LDS Church is against the ERA, and Utah has not approved it, but Kelly continues to fight for it there.
In 2020, Kelly started her podcast, Ordinary Equality, to teach people about the ERA's past and future. The title comes from a quote by Alice Paul, who first wrote the ERA in 1923. Paul said, "to me there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality."
Kelly has also written about how the ERA could help protect people from being treated unfairly because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Working for Women's Rights Worldwide
Kelly has been involved in many efforts to support women's rights. In 2017, she helped organize a large group from Utah to join the Women's March in Washington, D.C.. She also organized a big rally in Salt Lake City. At the rally, she said she was tired of men making laws about women's bodies and lives without asking them.
In 2019, Kelly worked with the United Nations. She helped run workshops in Uruguay and Argentina about freedom of religion and the rights of women and minorities.
Personal Life
Kelly served a mission for the LDS Church in Barcelona, Spain, and speaks Spanish fluently. She married J. Neil Ransom in 2006, and they divorced in 2016.
After being excommunicated, Kelly said it was like "a gift because it set me free to work on other causes." She believes that freedom of religion also includes the freedom from religion.
See also
