Friday, March 29, 2013

MARY BONAUTO -- A HERO IN THE GLBTQ COMMUNITY  


The following article highlighting the years of strategic leadership and legal work by Mary Bonauto appeared in the New York Times yesterday after  US Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of proposition 8 in California and on the federal DOMA.


Maine Lawyer Credited in Fight for Gay Marriage

BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Mary Bonauto, of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, has only a sideline seat this week, but she spent a decade plotting a careful strategy.
Or, copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://nyti.ms/XGBWyG


The article gives Mary appropriate credit for her work on same-sex marriage. 

For me, there is more to say. Mary was the lawyer who helped me and the members of the Domestic Partners task force I created when I was Mayor of Cambridge in 1990 to draft the Cambridge Domestic Partners' ordinance. Remember part of recent history is, when that ordinance passed the Cambridge City Council in 1992, (by a 5-4 vote that was a bold step.  

Mary was also involved in my years of legislative work on both domestic partners and same sex marriage.
I had the pleasure of being present for the oral arguments in the Massachusetts marriage case. Mary's presentation was superb and, of course, the outcome changed history.

Besides her superb strategic sense and legal capabilities, Mary is one of the nicest people I know. That comes across in her sensitivity to the judges and, though I am not an expert on this, would give her a leg up before any judge. 

I am proud to know Mary Bonauto and consider her a friend. 


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