# Mary Bonauto
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{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox person
| name =Mary Bonauto
| image =
| alt =
| caption = Mary Bonauto in 2014
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|06|08}}
| birth_place = [Newburgh, New York](/source/Newburgh%2C_New_York), U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = Lawyer
| known_for = Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
[GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders](/source/GLBTQ_Legal_Advocates_%26_Defenders)
| alma_mater = [Hamilton College](/source/Hamilton_College_(New_York))
[Northeastern University School of Law](/source/Northeastern_University_School_of_Law)
| awards = [Brudner Prize](/source/Brudner_Prize),
[MacArthur fellow](/source/MacArthur_fellow)
}}
'''Mary L. Bonauto''' (born June 8, 1961)[{{Cite journal|last=Bonauto|first=Mary|date=2015|title=Bonauto, Mary|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/bonauto_mary_S.pdf|journal=GLBT Archive}}] is an American [lawyer](/source/Attorneys_in_the_United_States) and [civil rights](/source/civil_rights) advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on [sexual orientation](/source/sexual_orientation) and [gender identity](/source/gender_identity), and has been referred to by US Representative [Barney Frank](/source/Barney_Frank) as "our [Thurgood Marshall](/source/Thurgood_Marshall)."
She began working with the [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts)-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, now named [GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders](/source/GLBTQ_Legal_Advocates_%26_Defenders)[''GLAD'': [https://www.glad.org/post/glad-now-stands-glbtq-legal-advocates-defenders "GLAD Now Stands for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders" February 23, 2016], accessed June 22, 2017] (GLAD) organization in 1990.[''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/magazine/toward-a-more-perfect-union.html "Toward a More Perfect Union," May 5, 2004], accessed June 29, 2010] A resident of [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland%2C_Maine), Bonauto was one of the leaders who both worked with the [Maine](/source/Maine) legislature to pass a [same-sex marriage](/source/same-sex_marriage) law and to defend it at the ballot in a narrow loss during the 2009 election campaign. These efforts were successful when, in the 2012 election, Maine voters approved the measure, making it the first state to allow same-sex marriage licenses via ballot vote.[National Conference of State Legislature: [http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/same-sex-marriage-laws.aspx "Same-Sex Marriage Laws"], accessed June 22, 2017] Bonauto is best known for being lead counsel in the case ''[Goodridge v. Department of Public Health](/source/Goodridge_v._Department_of_Public_Health)'' which made Massachusetts the first state in which same-sex couples could marry in 2004. She is also responsible for leading the first strategic challenges to section three of the [Defense of Marriage Act](/source/Defense_of_Marriage_Act) (DOMA).
On April 28, 2015, Bonauto was one of three attorneys who argued before the [U.S. Supreme Court](/source/U.S._Supreme_Court) in ''[Obergefell v. Hodges](/source/Obergefell_v._Hodges)'' arguing state bans on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. This much-publicized case determined that state bans against same-sex marriage are unconstitutional and is considered one of the most important civil rights cases which came before the U.S. Supreme Court in modern history.
==Biography==
Bonauto was born in 1961 and grew up in [Newburgh, New York](/source/Newburgh%2C_New_York) in a [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) family. She graduated from [Hamilton College](/source/Hamilton_College_(New_York)) and [Northeastern University School of Law](/source/Northeastern_University_School_of_Law).[{{cite news|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|title=In Fight for Marriage Rights, 'She's Our Thurgood Marshall' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/us/maine-lawyer-credited-in-fight-for-gay-marriage.html|access-date=July 13, 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 27, 2013}}] In 1987, after graduating from law school, she entered private practice in Maine, where she was at the time one of three openly [gay](/source/Homosexuality) private practice lawyers in the state.[''[Portland Press Herald](/source/Portland_Press_Herald)'': [http://www.pressherald.com/news/mainer-challenging-u_s_-defense-of-marriage-act_2010-05-02.html "Mainer challenging U.S. Defense of Marriage Act," May 2, 2010], accessed June 29, 2010] They have twin daughters.[
Bonauto has litigated widely in areas such as job and public accommodations discrimination, securing [domestic partner](/source/Domestic_partnership) benefits and relationship protections, establishing second parent rights and de facto parent status, vindicating [First Amendment](/source/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) protections, and challenging anti-gay harassment and violence. She has worked on public policy in all six New England states, and occasionally writes for legal publications. Bonauto filed her first marriage case in [Vermont](/source/Vermont) in July 1997.][Yale University: [http://www.yale.edu/lgbts/brudner.html James Robert Brudner '83 Memorial Prize and Lectures', accessed December 1, 2010]]
In 2011, Bonauto was named one of the ''50 most-powerful women in Boston'' by ''[Boston Magazine](/source/Boston_Magazine)''.[{{cite news|title=Bonauto makes Boston 50-most-powerful list|url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-portland-Mary-Bonauto-boston-gay-rights-50.html|access-date=4 February 2011|newspaper=Portland Press Herald|date=4 February 2011}}]
In 2012, she was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the [LGBT History Month](/source/LGBT_History_Month).[{{Cite web|url=http://lgbthistorymonth.com/mary-bonauto?tab=biography|title=Mary Bonauto biography|work=LGBT History Month}}]
In March 2013, [Roberta Kaplan](/source/Roberta_A._Kaplan), the lawyer arguing for DOMA repeal in the Supreme Court, told the ''[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)'', "No gay person in this country would be married without Mary Bonauto." Former US Representative [Barney Frank](/source/Barney_Frank), said "She's our [Thurgood Marshall](/source/Thurgood_Marshall)."[
In June 2013 immediately following the DOMA Supreme Court decision, she was called in Slate a "Gay Marriage Hero" and "the legal architect of the DOMA repeal."][[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/06/mary_bonauto_doma_repeal_why_every_gay_marriage_supporter_should_be_thanking.html Mary Bonauto, Gay Marriage Hero] Slate. June 2013.]
She was named a [MacArthur fellow](/source/MacArthur_Fellows_Program) in September 2014 for her work "breaking down legal barriers based on sexual orientation".[{{cite news|last1=Levenson|first1=Eric|title=Mary Bonauto and Harvard Math Professor Win $625,000 MacArthur 'Genius' Grants|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2014/09/17/mary-bonauto-and-harvard-math-professor-win-625000-macarthur-genius-grants/|access-date=September 17, 2014|work=Boston Globe|date=September 17, 2014}}]
In May 2016, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) for "establishing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide".[[http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/05/nine-to-receive-honorary-degrees/] Harvard Gazette. May 2016.]
==Work on same-sex marriage==
===Vermont===
{{main|Baker v. Vermont}}
In 1997, Bonauto, on behalf of GLAD, along with [Beth Robinson](/source/Beth_Robinson) and Susan Murray, filed a lawsuit in Vermont on behalf of three couples seeking the freedom to marry: Stacy Jolles and Nina Beck; Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan; and Holly Puterbaugh and Lois Farnham.[[http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/supct/170/98-032op.txt Baker v. State December 20, 1999] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303035134/http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/supct/170/98-032op.txt |date=March 3, 2012 }}, accessed July 12, 2010] In the spring of 2000, the Vermont Legislature enacted [civil unions](/source/civil_unions), which extended to same-sex couples all of the state-level benefits of marriage but in a different system from marriage itself.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/work/cases/goodridge-et-al-v-dept-public-health/ "Goodridge et al. v. Dept. Public Health," November 18, 2003], accessed July 12, 2010] In the case, known as ''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'', the [Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court](/source/Massachusetts_Supreme_Judicial_Court) on November 18, 2003, became the first state high court to rule that excluding gay people from civil marriage violates equal protection guarantees. Same-sex couples began marrying on May 17, 2004.[''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/us/15gay.html Pam Belluck, "Massachusetts Gay Marriage to Remain Legal," June 15, 2007], accessed July 12, 2010]
===Connecticut===
{{main|Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health}}
In August 2004, GLAD, including Bonauto, filed suit in [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut)[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/work/cases/kerrigan-mock-v-connecticut-dept-of-public-health/ Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Dept. of Public Health, October 10, 2008], accessed July 12, 2010] on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples who wished to marry. The Connecticut legislature responded by passing a civil union law the next year.[General Assembly, State of Connecticut: [https://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/act/pa/2005pa-00010-r00sb-00963-pa.htm "An Act Concerning Civil Unions," April 20, 2005], accessed July 12, 2010] On May 14, 2007, GLAD attorney Bennett Klein, joined by Bonauto, argued for the couples in the [Connecticut Supreme Court](/source/Connecticut_Supreme_Court).[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/work/cases/kerrigan-mock-v-connecticut-dept-of-public-health/ Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Dept. of Public Health, October 10, 2008], accessed April 15, 2015] On October 10, 2008, GLAD 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.[''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/nyregion/11marriage.html Robert D. McFadden, "Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut," October 10, 2008], accessed July 12, 2010]
===Maine===
{{main|Same-sex marriage in Maine}}
thumb|Mary Bonauto (with suitcase) gives the thumbs up as she enters the Supreme Court in 2015.
In 2009, Maine became the first state to pass a same-sex marriage law through the legislature, instead of through the court system, and also have it signed into law by the Governor.[''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/07marriage.html Abby Goodnough, "Maine Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill," May 6, 2009], accessed July 12, 2010] Bonauto was instrumental in the campaign to enact the law, and was the architect of an unprecedentedly large public hearing on April 22, 2009, where proponents and opponents presented their arguments.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/current/news-detail/glad-helps-make-me-hearing-a-huge-success/ "GLAD Helps Make ME Hearing a Huge Success"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724135603/http://www.glad.org/current/news-detail/glad-helps-make-me-hearing-a-huge-success/ |date=2011-07-24 }}, accessed July 12, 2010] 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.[''Bangor Daily News'': [http://www.bangordailynews.com/electionresults.html "Statewide Results," November 10, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223151328/http://www.bangordailynews.com/electionresults.html |date=December 23, 2010 }}, accessed July 12, 2010] In the wake of this veto, Mary Bonauto was a leader in the coalition that came together to run a two-year public education campaign, that led in January 2012 to a direct ballot vote on the issue.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/current/news-detail/marriage-equality-victory-in-maine/ "Victory! Maine Voters Say Yes to Marriage Equality"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408171708/http://www.glad.org/current/news-detail/marriage-equality-victory-in-maine/ |date=2015-04-08 }}, accessed April 3, 2015] On November 6, 2012, voters confirmed the right of same-sex couples to receive a marriage license, the law taking effect on December 29, 2012, becoming the first state to do so by ballot vote.[National Conference of State Legislature: [http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/same-sex-marriage-laws.aspx "Same-Sex Marriage Laws"], accessed April 3, 2015]
===''Obergefell v. Hodges''===
{{main|Obergefell v. Hodges}}
In March 2015, lawyers preparing to argue a consolidation of the Supreme Court cases titled ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' selected Bonauto to argue[{{cite news|last1=Dennison|first1=Lyle|title=Lawyers for same-sex marriage plea named|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/03/lawyers-for-same-sex-marriage-plea-named/|access-date=March 31, 2015|publisher=SCOTUSblog|date=March 31, 2015}}] on behalf of the Michigan case ''[DeBoer v. Snyder](/source/DeBoer_v._Snyder)'' and the Kentucky case ''[Love v. Beshear](/source/Love_v._Beshear)''. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bonauto and the plaintiffs thus declaring all state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
==DOMA==
===''Gill v. Office of Personnel Management''===
{{Main|Gill v. Office of Personnel Management}}
In March 2009, Bonauto and GLAD, along with co-counsel from Foley Hoag, Jenner & Block, and Sullivan & Worcester, filed in [U.S. District Court in Boston](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Massachusetts) a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of the [Defense of Marriage Act](/source/Defense_of_Marriage_Act) (DOMA).[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/doma Challenging Federal Marriage Discrimination], accessed July 12, 2010] 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](/source/Joseph_Louis_Tauro) heard oral arguments from Bonauto and co-counsel on the merits of the case on May 6, 2010.[''Christian Science Monitor'': [https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0506/Legal-challenge-of-federal-gay-marriage-ban-begins Will Buchanan, "Legal challenge of federal gay marriage ban begins," May 6, 2010], accessed July 12, 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.[''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/us/09marriage.html Abby Goodnough and John Schwartz, "Judge Topples U.S. Rejection of Gay Unions," July 8, 2010], accessed July 12, 2010] The Department of Justice will now decide whether to appeal the ruling.[''Washington Post'': [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070900908.html Denise Lavoie, "White House silent on Mass. gay marriage ruling," July 9, 201]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, accessed July 12, 2010] On October 12, 2010, the Department of Justice filed a notice to appeal the District Court ruling.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/gill-defendants-notice-of-appeal-10-12-10.pdf "Gill v. Office of Personnel Management Notice of Appeal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924022449/http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/gill-defendants-notice-of-appeal-10-12-10.pdf |date=2015-09-24 }}, accessed April 3, 2015] On May 31, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the District Court decision finding section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional. In July 2012 the Department of Justice filed a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court but the petition was denied in the wake of the Court's landmark decision in ''[United States v. Windsor](/source/United_States_v._Windsor)'' that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional.
===''Pederson v. Office of Personnel Management''===
{{main|Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management}}
On November 9, 2010, Bonauto and GLAD filed a second major, multi-plaintiff lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Section 3.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/work/cases/pedersen-v-opm Pedersen et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al.], accessed April 3, 2015] The case specifically addressed married couples in Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. On July 31, 2012, the Connecticut Federal District Court Judge Bryant ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional.[GLAD: [http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/pedersen-v-opm/07-31-2012-pedersen-v-opm-ct-federal-district-court-ruling.pdf "Pederson v. Office of Personnel Management"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916163130/http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/pedersen-v-opm/07-31-2012-pedersen-v-opm-ct-federal-district-court-ruling.pdf |date=2012-09-16 }}, accessed April 3, 2015] On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled DOMA Section 3 unconstitutional in ''[United States v. Windsor](/source/United_States_v._Windsor)''.
==Recognition==
In January 2025, President Joe Biden named Bonauto as a recipient of the [Presidential Citizens Medal](/source/Presidential_Citizens_Medal).[{{cite web | author=The White House | title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal | website=The White House | date=2 January 2025 | url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/02/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-citizens-medal/ | access-date=3 January 2025}}]
==See also==
{{Portal|LGBTQ|Biography|Law}}
* [EqualityMaine](/source/EqualityMaine)
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://www.northeastern.edu/law/why/pathways/bonauto.html Biography at northeastern.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727202739/http://www.northeastern.edu/law/why/pathways/bonauto.html |date=2015-07-27 }}
* [https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/how-the-idea-of-marriage-equality-became-reality Chris Geidner, "How One Lawyer Turned The Idea Of Marriage Equality Into Reality," November 17, 2013, ''BuzzFeed Politics'']
* [http://www.macfound.org/fellows/909/ MacArthur Foundation Profile]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonauto, Mary}}
Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Lawyers from Portland, Maine
Category:LGBTQ people from Maine
Category:American lesbians
Category:Hamilton College (New York) alumni
Category:Northeastern University School of Law alumni
Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Massachusetts
Category:American civil rights lawyers
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Category:MacArthur Fellows
Category:People from Newburgh, New York
Category:21st-century American women lawyers
Category:American LGBTQ lawyers
Category:Activists from Portland, Maine
Category:20th-century American women lawyers
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:Presidential Citizens Medal recipients
Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Maine
Category:American women civil rights activists
Category:LGBTQ rights activists from New York (state)
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mary Bonauto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bonauto) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bonauto?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.