Amy Walter is a well-known name in political analysis in the United States. Previously she was the political director of ABC News and now works as national editor of The Cook Political Report. During her years as a journalist, she has received a number of awards, including the Washington Post’s Crystal Ball Award for her accurate election forecasting in 2000, and in 2009 she was named one of the 50 best journalists in DC by the Washington Journal. Learn more about her professional and personal life.
Is Amy Walter Gay or Lesbian?
Amy Walter is openly gay/lesbian. For more than two decades she has been dating Kathryn Hamm, an educator, and entrepreneur known as a pioneer in the gay/lesbian wedding industry.
Amy and Kathryn Hamm were first married in 1999 and then again in 2013, as their first marriage was not legally approved. They had met through mutual friends in 1993. Hamm, who grew up in Dallas, had moved to Washington DC two years earlier. She had just graduated in psychology and women’s studies from Princeton University, where she played soccer.
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After two years together, Amy and Kathryn took their relationship to the next level in 1995 and moved into a house together in Clarendon. In 1999, the two decided to seal their relationship with marriage, and although it was not legally sanctioned, the two continued their relationship. Their wedding took place during the 1999 working weekend.
On November 2, 2013, Amy and Kathryn decided at the courthouse in Washington DC to get married for the second time in order to receive certain legal benefits. In contrast to the first marriage, where both wore dresses, the couple chose a very casual look.
The courthouse wedding was attended by about 160 guests and a dozen children. The ceremony was presided over by Kathryn’s friend from college, the honorable Marisa Demeo, a judge of the D.C. Supreme Court.
“To me, marriage is a civil right, it’s a series of state-sanctioned benefits,” said Amy’s wife, Hamm.
“But being married to someone – or being committed to someone – is a lifetime investment of work and love. Amy and I got married in 1999, and we made promises to each other then, and I’ve felt honestly ‘married’ to her ever since. We wouldn’t have had another ceremony if it wasn’t something we had to do to get the legal benefits which, I would add, are still only partial benefits for us because our home state – Virginia – does not recognize our marriage.
When Amy was asked by Equally Wed what she liked most about her wife Kat, she said
“I love how willing Kathryn is to put her heart into her sleeve. She fights for what she believes in, even though she knows she could be deeply disappointed and hurt. And even then, she never stops believing that she can make a difference.”
Kathryn was asked the same question, and she said;
“I love Amy’s sense of humor, kindness, willingness, playfulness, and wisdom. She’s a perfect foil for me. And I think lately I like watching her parents raise our son the best. It’s a joy to experience that side of her!”
Amy Walter Family
After 7 years of marriage, Walter and Kathryn adopted their son, a boy named Caleb, in 2006. He was sweetly incorporated in their second marriage in 2013 through a sand ceremony.
“We added in a sand ceremony to reflect our commitment as an eternal family, as our son was too young to remember his adoption ceremony. It was really powerful and, let’s call it a mother’s intuition, but I feel that something shifted inside him as he understood our commitment as a family and his role in it in a new way,” said Kathryn.
In addition to their son, the couple also owns a Wheaton terrier named Eli.
Like their wife Amy, Kathryn has been just as successful in her career. She did an internship at the Discovery Channel before working there full-time. She then began working as a counselor at the Maret School in DC, where she also coached the soccer team. At the same time, Hamm studied a master’s degree in social work at the Catholic University of America.
Hamm resumed her professional role at a school in Maryland before working in the front office of Washington Freedom, Washington’s first professional women’s soccer team.
She now works as an editor for Gayweddings.com, an idea born by her mother Gretchen out of frustration when she could not find suitable wedding accessories for her daughter and wife’s wedding in 1999. In 2015 Gayweddings.com was taken over by WeddingWire, where Hamm also writes a column as an education expert. Hamm has published several books about same-sex marriage.
Amy Walter Bio/Wiki
Amy Walter was born on October 19, 1969, in Arlington, Virginia. She attended Colby College, which she graduated summa cum laude in 1991, and is now a member of its Board of Trustees.
Walter began her journalistic career immediately. For the first few years of her career, she worked for The Hotline of the National Journal, where she was editor-in-chief. Amy was also the principal voice of the political publication, which regularly provided analyses of the nation’s political status.
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From this role, she went to ABC News in Washington DC as a political director. At ABC, Walter oversaw all political coverage on ABCNews.com. She also provided an on-air analysis of ABC News programs such as “Good Morning America,” “This Week with Christiane Amanpour,” “World News with Diane Sawyer,” ABC News Now, and “Nightline.
Prior to becoming the national editor of The Cook political report, Walter served as senior editor of the non-partisan publication from 1997 to 2007. Walter has also contributed to CBS’s “Face the Nation”, HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”, PBS’s “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and more.
In 2006, she won an Emmy with the 2006 CNN election night team.