Mary Bonauto facts for kids

Mary L. Bonauto (born June 8, 1961) is an American lawyer and civil rights champion. She has worked hard to stop unfair treatment based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Some people, like US Representative Barney Frank, have even called her "our Thurgood Marshall" because of her important work.

Mary Bonauto started working with an organization called Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in 1990. This group is now known as GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. She lives in Portland, Maine. Mary was a key leader in Maine who helped pass a law allowing same-sex marriage. Even though it was voted down in 2009, her efforts succeeded in 2012. Maine became the first state where voters approved equal marriage rights through a ballot vote.

Mary Bonauto is most famous for being the main lawyer in the case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. This case made Massachusetts the first state where same-sex couples could legally marry in 2004. She also led the first challenges against a part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

On April 28, 2015, Mary Bonauto was one of three lawyers who argued a very important case before the U.S. Supreme Court. This case was called Obergefell v. Hodges. She argued that state laws banning same-sex marriage were against the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court agreed, making it legal for same-sex couples to marry across the entire United States. This case is seen as one of the most important civil rights cases in recent history.

About Mary Bonauto

Mary Bonauto was born in 1961 and grew up in Newburgh, New York. She went to Hamilton College and then to Northeastern University School of Law. After finishing law school in 1987, she started working as a lawyer in Maine. At that time, she was one of only a few openly gay lawyers in private practice there. She lives in Portland with her spouse, Jennifer Wriggins, who is a professor at the University of Maine School of Law. They were married in Massachusetts and have twin daughters.

Mary Bonauto has worked on many different types of legal cases. These include fighting for fairness in jobs and public places. She also helped people get benefits and protections for their relationships. She worked to establish rights for parents who are not biological parents and to protect free speech. She also challenged unfair treatment and violence against gay people. She has worked on public policy in all six New England states.

Yale University gave Mary Bonauto the 2010-2011 Brudner Prize. This award honors scholars or activists who have greatly helped people understand LGBTQ issues or increased acceptance for LGBT people.

In 2011, Boston Magazine named Mary Bonauto one of the "50 most-powerful women in Boston." In 2012, she was recognized by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of LGBT History Month.

In March 2013, Roberta Kaplan, another lawyer who argued against DOMA, told the New York Times, "No gay person in this country would be married without Mary Bonauto." Former US Representative Barney Frank also said, "She's our Thurgood Marshall." In June 2013, after the Supreme Court's DOMA decision, Slate magazine called her a "Gay Marriage Hero" and the "legal architect of the DOMA repeal."

She received a MacArthur fellowship in September 2014. This award was for her work "breaking down legal barriers based on sexual orientation." In May 2016, Harvard University gave her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. This was for "establishing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide."

Working for Equal Marriage Rights

Vermont's Path to Civil Unions

In 1997, Mary Bonauto and GLAD, along with other lawyers, filed a lawsuit in Vermont. They represented three couples who wanted the freedom to marry. The case, Baker v. State of Vermont, went all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the couples. However, it asked the Vermont Legislature to create a solution. In 2000, the Vermont Legislature passed a law for civil unions. This gave same-sex couples all the state-level benefits of marriage, but in a different system.

Massachusetts Leads the Way

GLAD, led by Mary Bonauto, filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts in 2001. This was on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples who were not allowed to marry. In the case, known as Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made a historic ruling on November 18, 2003. It was the first state high court to say that keeping gay people from civil marriage went against equal protection laws. Same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004.

Connecticut's Decision

In August 2004, GLAD, including Mary Bonauto, filed a lawsuit in Connecticut. This was for seven gay and lesbian couples who wanted to marry. The Connecticut legislature then passed a civil union law the next year. On May 14, 2007, GLAD lawyers argued for the couples in the Connecticut Supreme Court. On October 10, 2008, GLAD won the case. The court ruled that it was unfair to put same-sex couples in the separate status of civil unions.

Maine's Voter Approval

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 its legislature. The Governor also signed it into law. Mary Bonauto was very important in the campaign to make this law happen. She helped organize a very large public hearing on April 22, 2009, where people shared their views. After the law passed, voters overturned it in November 2009.

After this, Mary Bonauto helped lead a group that worked for two years to educate the public. This led to a direct vote on the issue in January 2012. On November 6, 2012, voters confirmed the right for same-sex couples to get a marriage license. The law took effect on December 29, 2012. Maine became the first state to allow equal marriage rights through a direct vote by its citizens.

The Obergefell v. Hodges Case

In March 2015, lawyers preparing for the Supreme Court cases known as Obergefell v. Hodges chose Mary Bonauto to argue for some of the cases. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mary Bonauto and the people she represented. This decision declared that all state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. This meant that same-sex couples could legally marry in every state across the United States.

Challenging DOMA

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a federal law passed in 1996. It said that for federal purposes, marriage was only between one man and one woman. This meant that even if same-sex couples were legally married in their state, the federal government did not recognize their marriage.

The Gill v. Office of Personnel Management Case

In March 2009, Mary Bonauto and GLAD filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Boston. They challenged a part of DOMA. The lawsuit argued that DOMA's definition of marriage was unfair to married same-sex couples. It said that this part of the law violated equal protection guarantees. On July 8, 2010, the judge ruled that this part of DOMA was unconstitutional. The case was appealed, and on May 31, 2012, a higher court also found that part of DOMA to be unconstitutional.

The Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management Case

On November 9, 2010, Mary Bonauto and GLAD filed another major lawsuit against DOMA. This case specifically involved married couples in Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. On July 31, 2012, a judge in Connecticut also ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional. Finally, on June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case United States v. Windsor that the part of DOMA defining marriage as only between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. This was a huge victory for equal marriage rights.

Awards and Recognition

In January 2025, President Joe Biden named Mary Bonauto as a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal. This is a very high honor given to American citizens for their outstanding service.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Bonauto para niños

• EqualityMaine