Jay Blotcher (born 1960) is an American activist, journalist, and editor. He was active in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) in its early years, serving as chair of the media committee, and was a founding member of Queer Nation. Blotcher later worked as a publicist for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) and the Culinary Institute of America, as well as co-founding a public relations firm that specialized in representing progressive groups and individuals. His work has appeared in both mainstream and LGBTQ publications, including The New York Times, the Advocate, Out, POZ, Gay City News, and LGNY. In 2004, Blotcher and his longtime partner were among the first same-sex couples to be married in the state of New York when New Paltz mayor Jason West wed twenty-five couples in front of the village hall in a ceremony later challenged in court. Adoption and early life Blotcher was born to nineteen-year-old Valerie Paul in June 1960, although his birth remained unknown to his biological father, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Arnie Portocarrero. Paul and Portocarrero had met through friends over drinks in Boston one evening, Blotcher says his mother later told him. After his birth, Paul surrendered custody to a foster home in greater Boston, where Blotcher lived until June 30, 1961, when he was adopted by Malvin "Sonny" Blotcher and Elaine "Lolly" Blotcher through a Jewish adoption agency. Blotcher grew up in Randolph, Massachusetts, with his sister, Andrea, also adopted, and attended Temple Beth Am Hebrew School. Blotcher's parents were active at temple, both serving in leadership roles and volunteering at temple events. Blotcher graduated from Randolph High School (Massachusetts) in 1978. Blotcher's interest in LGBTQ activism began while he was a student at Syracuse University, where he wrote a pair of articles profiling the school's Gay Student Association in the student newspaper, The Daily Orange, and magazine, Report. During a journalism class in his sophomore year, when required to write a term paper on a major magazine, Blotcher chose the gay publication Christopher Street, spending a day in the magazine's New York City offices, and subsequently sending the publisher a copy of his term paper. Editor Tom Steele wrote back, "When you come to New York, you have a job." Blotcher graduated from Syracuse University in May 1982. Valerie Paul eventually searched for her son, leading to Blotcher's 1988 reunion with her and discovery of his