Obituary: Don Gorton

Donald "Don" Eldridge Gorton, III, age 62, of Boston, passed away unexpectedly on December 24, 2022 at his family home in Belzoni, Mississippi.

Gorton was born on May 4th, 1960, and was the son of Anne Campbell Carlton Gorton and the late Donald Eldridge Gorton Jr. In addition to his mother, he is survived by a brother, James Carlton Gorton, a sister, Lindsay Gorton Warren and seven nieces and nephews. He graduated from Boston University in 1982 and Harvard Law School in 1985. 

He was a highly respected advocate for LGBTQ equality in Massachusetts for 35 years, focussing on strategy to build a movement of activists, develop political clout, analyze and document issues, and organizing to secure critical legislation.

Gorton's work was groundbreaking. From civil rights for sexual orientation and gender identity, to hate crimes laws, reporting and enforcement, funding for victims' legal fees, anti-bullying in schools, anti-transgender violence, and protecting youth from psychological abuse, Gorton was a relentless advocate.

He was the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes from 1991 to 2003, led the drafting of regulations to implement the Hate Crimes Reporting Act of 1990, and spearheaded civil rights activities for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. He was also heavily involved in the lobbying efforts which succeeded in the passage in the Boston City Council of the Domestic Partnership Ordinance in 1993.

Gorton was Chair of the Greater Boston Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance from 1988 to 1994.  He played a leading role in passage of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Law of 1989 and the Hate Crimes Penalties Act amendments of 1996.  

Don often spoke to friends of growing up in Mississippi, as a young sensitive closeted gay boy, a history of fear and bullying that drove him to activism. In response, he was a fervent anti-bullying advocate leading the field, directing the Anti-Violence Project of Massachusetts from 1994 until his passing.  In 2010, he played a leading role in the 50+ organization coalition that secured passage of comprehensive anti-bullying legislation ("An Act Relevant to Bullying in Schools"), and co-authored the Massachusetts Anti-Bullying Guide.

The silent suffering of students in schools moved him in 1998 to establish the Student Civil Rights Project, under the Governor's Task Force, to support students, parents, educators and law enforcement in creating safe school environments. Turning laws into practice, he organized conferences, trainings, Civil Rights Teams, statewide surveys, internships, websites, the first-of-its-kind trans inclusive middle school curriculum, and an online reporting channel for students being harassed.
From 2008 to 2013, Gorton was active in the youth-led LGBTQ equality movement dubbed by the New York Times as "Stonewall 2.0", and served as an officer of Join the Impact MA, embraced by a new generation of activists.  

In gratitude for his work, Gorton was honored as Grand Marshal of the Boston LGBT Pride Parade in 2010, its 40th anniversary year, under the banner of "From Riots to Rights: 40 Years of Progress."

In 2019, he co-chaired the Massachusetts Coalition to Ban Conversion Therapy for Minors, which shepherded passage of the law banning the abusive practice in Massachusetts. He also authored Anti-Transgender Hate Crimes: The Challenge for Law Enforcement, which made the case for separate reporting of transgender based hate-crimes, in which he acknowledged the victims and the societal change in motion.

"Transgender survivors of violence, who have maintained dignity and poise through extreme cruelty, are propelling social change that will shatter the divisions and stereotypes holding back the fullest realization of human potential."

Gorton was a prolific writer on LGBTQ topics geared at providing legal, social, and political information and philosophy to underpin critical advocacy moments and strategies.  He was a long-time officer of the Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide where he authored 25 articles.

An ardent grassroots organizer, he welcomed everyone into the movement, keenly recruiting passion and talent.  There was no job too tedious for this Harvard lawyer, from phone banking to hosting meetings, where he was a stickler for Robert's Rules, astutely managing the sometimes fractious dynamics of LGBTQ organizing.

He organized countless events, rallies, protests, voter registration, get-out-the-vote, fundraisers, legislative meetings, candidate questionnaires and public forums, where the LGBTQ community cultivated political stature and candidates coveted endorsements.

He also reveled in the celebration and joy of the community coming together and would be at pride parties dancing late into the night with his cadre of dear friends and activists. He chaired the Stonewall 50 Boston Pride Committee, and the song "Proud" was always blasting at his Pride Day parties at his South End home, an annual pilgrimage for activists.

Gorton also supported candidates for city, state and federal office, leading the gay vote to develop legislative political power at a time when politicians were not gay friendly and it was necessary to elect pro-gay candidates one by one.  He organized for David Scondras, Boston's first out City Councilor, and Governor Bill Weld, a Republican. 

Weld then established the first Governor's Commission on Gay & Lesbian Youth, groundbreaking at that time, to address youth suicide and school safety, and also appointed unprecedented levels of openly-gay people to his administration. Gorton also worked with Governor Cellucci & Governor Swift on hate crimes milestones.

Professionally, Gorton was a Boston attorney, later a state appellate tax judge from 1997 to 2008, and finally an attorney with the Department of Revenue.  He was an aficionado of classical music and the British Royal family present and past, of whom he collected artisanal ceramic figures.

Above all, Gorton's legacy is that of a community leader who plotted a path forward through the hardest moments of LGBTQ liberation.  Activism was Don Gorton's life and purpose and he was a leader among leaders who forged a vanguard movement in Massachusetts that infused LGBTQ liberation nationwide.

A celebration honoring Don Gorton will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at Club Cafe, 290 Columbus Avenue, Boston from 3:15pm to 5:30pm.