Two Boston-based lawyers have been chosen to stand before the U.S. Supreme Court and defend the rights of same-sex couples to marry in every state in America. For the landmark cases facing the Court on April 28, the plaintiff’s counsel named Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s civil rights project director, and Doug Hallward-Driemeier, a partner in the firm Ropes and Gray, to represent their clients.
Bonauto famously argued Goodridge vs. DPH, which made Massachusetts the first state where same-sex couples could legally marry in 2004. Hallward-Driemeier has argued more than 14 cases before the Court, served as assistant to the solicitor general in the U.S. Department of Justice, and, like Bonauto, has provided pro bono representation in many other LGBT rights cases.
In a March 31 press release, Ropes and Gray stated that:
Bonauto will present arguments for question 1: “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?,” and Hallward-Driemeier for question 2: “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?”
In a March 31 GLAD press release, Bonauto said:
“I’m humbled to be standing up for the petitioners from Kentucky and Michigan who seek the freedom to marry, along with the Michigan team of Carole Stanyar, Dana Nessel, Ken Mogill, and Robert Sedler, and with support from the other legal teams in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The road that we’ve all travelled to get here has been built by so many people who believe that marriage is a fundamental right for all people. Same-sex couples should not be excluded from the joy, the security, and the full citizenship signified by that institution. I believe the Court will give us a fair hearing, and I look forward to the day when all LGBT Americans will be able to marry the person they love.”
A March 31 press release from Ropes and Gray quoted Hallward-Driemeier:
“It is an incredible honor to represent these devoted couples, who have already been lawfully married and established new families, in arguing to vindicate their right to have the states respect their marriages. The plaintiffs in these cases reflect the broad array of couples, from those together for three decades to those just starting young families, and the many instances in which married couples must cross state lines to work for a new employer, give birth at the nearest hospital, or seek out new opportunities. These couples deserve the same respect and stability that states grant other married couples and their families throughout every phase of life.”
