Mary Bonauto
Encyclopedia
Mary Bonauto is an American
lawyer and civil rights
advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation
and gender identity
. She began working with the Massachusetts
-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) organization in 1990. A resident of Portland, Maine
, Bonauto was one of the leaders who both worked with the Maine
legislature to pass a marriage equality
law and to defend it at the ballot in a narrow loss during the 2009 election campaign.
. In 1987, after graduating from law school, she entered private practice in Maine, where she was at the time one of three openly-gay
private practice lawyers in the state. As of May 2010, she lived in Portland with her spouse Jennifer Wriggins, who is a professor at the University of Maine School of Law
. The couple were married in Massachusetts. They have two children.
GLAD, through Bonauto, has litigated widely in areas such as job and public accommodations discrimination, securing domestic partner
benefits and relationship protections, establishing second parent rights and de facto parent status, vindicating First Amendment
protections, and challenging anti-gay harassment and violence. She has worked in public policy in all six New England states, and occasionally writes for legal publications. Bonauto filed her first marriage case in Vermont
in July 1997.
Yale University
awarded its 2010-2011 Brudner Prize
, which recognizes "an accomplished scholar or activist whose work has made significant contributions to the understanding of LGBT issues or furthered the tolerance of LGBT people," to Bonauto.
In 2011, Bonauto was named one of the 50 most-powerful women in Boston by Boston Magazine
.
, which ruled in the couples' favor but invited the Vermont Legislature to legislate a solution. In the spring of 2000, the Vermont Legislature enacted civil unions, which extended all of the state-level benefits of marriage but in a different system from marriage itself.
became the first state high court to rule that excluding gay people from civil marriage violates equal protection guarantees. Same-sex couples began marrying in May 2004. The November 2003 ruling was contested politically for a number of years, but in June 2007, more than three-fourths of the state legislature voted to reject any proposal to amend the state constitution and reverse the Goodridge decision.
on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples in August 2004. The Connecticut legislature responded by passing a civil union law the next year. GLAD attorney Bennett Klein, joined by Bonauto, argued for the couples in the Connecticut Supreme Court
and won a ruling that it was unjustified discrimination to place same-sex couples in the separate and lesser status of civil unions, and that sexual orientation was a "quasi-suspect" classification for equal protection purposes.
a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA). The case claims that the federal definition of marriage created by DOMA to exclude married same-sex couples from all federal marital protections violates equal protection guarantees. U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro
heard oral arguments on the merits of the case on May 6, 2010. On July 8, 2010, Judge Tauro ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional with respect to claims brought by the seven married same-sex couples and three widowers from Massachusetts GLAD is representing in the case. The Department of Justice will now decide whether to appeal the ruling.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
. She began working with the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) organization in 1990. A resident of Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, Bonauto was one of the leaders who both worked with the Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
legislature to pass a marriage equality
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
law and to defend it at the ballot in a narrow loss during the 2009 election campaign.
Personal and education
Bonauto grew up in Newburgh, New York in a Roman Catholic family. She graduated from Hamilton College and Northeastern University School of LawNortheastern University School of Law
Northeastern University School of Law is a law school in Boston, Massachusetts. From the time of its founding in 1898, the law school's mission has focused on addressing the needs of students and of society....
. In 1987, after graduating from law school, she entered private practice in Maine, where she was at the time one of three openly-gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
private practice lawyers in the state. As of May 2010, she lived in Portland with her spouse Jennifer Wriggins, who is a professor at the University of Maine School of Law
University of Maine School of Law
The University of Maine School of Law is located in Portland, Maine and is Maine's only law school. It is a freestanding institution within the University of Maine System. In practice, it is administered as a unit of the University of Southern Maine, which provides the law school's support staff...
. The couple were married in Massachusetts. They have two children.
GLAD, through Bonauto, has litigated widely in areas such as job and public accommodations discrimination, securing domestic partner
Domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
benefits and relationship protections, establishing second parent rights and de facto parent status, vindicating First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
protections, and challenging anti-gay harassment and violence. She has worked in public policy in all six New England states, and occasionally writes for legal publications. Bonauto filed her first marriage case in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
in July 1997.
Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
awarded its 2010-2011 Brudner Prize
Brudner Prize
The James Robert Brudner Memorial Prize and Lecture at Yale University celebrates lifetime accomplishment and scholarly contributions in the field of lesbian and gay studies. It is bestowed annually by the Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale...
, which recognizes "an accomplished scholar or activist whose work has made significant contributions to the understanding of LGBT issues or furthered the tolerance of LGBT people," to Bonauto.
In 2011, Bonauto was named one of the 50 most-powerful women in Boston by Boston Magazine
Boston magazine
Boston is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication for more than 40 years.-About the magazine:The magazine is self-described as:...
.
Vermont
In 1997, Bonauto on behalf of GLAD, along with Beth Robinson and Susan Murray, filed a lawsuit in Vermont on behalf of three couples seeking the freedom to marry. The suit was ultimately appealed to the Vermont Supreme CourtVermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont and is one of seven state courts of Vermont.The Court consists of a chief justice and four associate justices; the Court mostly hears appeals of cases that have been decided by other courts...
, which ruled in the couples' favor but invited the Vermont Legislature to legislate a solution. In the spring of 2000, the Vermont Legislature enacted civil unions, which extended all of the state-level benefits of marriage but in a different system from marriage itself.
Massachusetts
GLAD led by Bonauto filed suit in Massachusetts on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples denied the freedom to marry in 2001. In the case, known as Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
became the first state high court to rule that excluding gay people from civil marriage violates equal protection guarantees. Same-sex couples began marrying in May 2004. The November 2003 ruling was contested politically for a number of years, but in June 2007, more than three-fourths of the state legislature voted to reject any proposal to amend the state constitution and reverse the Goodridge decision.
Connecticut
GLAD, including Bonauto, filed suit in ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples in August 2004. The Connecticut legislature responded by passing a civil union law the next year. GLAD attorney Bennett Klein, joined by Bonauto, argued for the couples in the Connecticut Supreme Court
Connecticut Supreme Court
The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol...
and won a ruling that it was unjustified discrimination to place same-sex couples in the separate and lesser status of civil unions, and that sexual orientation was a "quasi-suspect" classification for equal protection purposes.
Maine
In 2009, Maine became the first state to pass a marriage equality law through the legislature, instead of through the court system, and also have it signed into law by the Governor. Bonauto was instrumental in the campaign to enact the marriage equality law, and was the architect of an unprecedentedly large public hearing on April 22, 2009, where proponents and opponents presented their arguments. After the law was passed, a "people's veto" referendum campaign was begun and the voters overturned the law in November 2009, by a 53-47 margin.Gill v. Office of Personnel Management
In March 2009, GLAD, including Bonauto, and along with co-counsel from Foley Hoag, Jenner & Block, and Sullivan & Worcester, filed in U.S. District Court in BostonUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. The second term was held in Salem in 1790 and until 1813 court session locations...
a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
(DOMA). The case claims that the federal definition of marriage created by DOMA to exclude married same-sex couples from all federal marital protections violates equal protection guarantees. U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro
Joseph Louis Tauro
Joseph Louis Tauro is a United States federal judge. He is the son of the late Massachusetts Chief Justice G. Joseph Tauro.Born in Winchester, Massachusetts, Tauro received an A.B. from Brown University in 1953 and an LL.B. from Cornell Law School in 1956. He was a First Lieutenant in the United...
heard oral arguments on the merits of the case on May 6, 2010. On July 8, 2010, Judge Tauro ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional with respect to claims brought by the seven married same-sex couples and three widowers from Massachusetts GLAD is representing in the case. The Department of Justice will now decide whether to appeal the ruling.