Mary Elaine Gennoy (June 11, 1951 – September 5, 2004) was an American activist for LGBT rights,

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

, and

marijuana legalization The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...

, based in San Francisco.

Early life and education

Gennoy was from

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

, the daughter of William J. Gennoy and Doris Elaine Gennoy (later Gilla). Her father was a businessman and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

fighter pilot. Her mother was a secretary. She had congenital health issues she traced to radiation exposure in utero, while her mother was in treatment for cancer. She attended

Alameda High School Alameda High School is a co-educational state high school serving grades 9–12. It is located in Alameda, California, United States, and is part of the Alameda Unified School District. History The suggestion to open a "Preparatory Department o ...

in the 1960s, the

College of Alameda College of Alameda is a public community college in Alameda, California. It is part of the Peralta Community College District and was opened in 1968. Since 1970 the college has held classes on a 62-acre campus at the intersection of Webster Stre ...

in the early 1970s, and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

from 1979 to 1984.Highleyman, Liz
"Activist Mary Gennoy Dies at 53"
''Bay Area Reporter'' (September 16, 2004), via GLBT Historical Society, Online Searchable Obituary Database.

Career

Gennoy was a familiar figure in San Francisco activist communities, working for LGBT rights, disability rights, the environment, and marijuana legalization. She was one of the original active members of the

San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club The San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club was the first public marijuana dispensary in the United States. History The San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club was founded in 1994. The location of the dispensary was previously an existing cannabis collecti ...

, along with "Brownie Mary" Rathbun,

Dennis Peron Dennis Robert Peron (April 8, 1945 – January 27, 2018) was an American activist and businessman who became a leader in the movement for the legalization of cannabis throughout the 1990s. He influenced many in California and thus changed ...

, and others. "If you were born like me, you'd have no choice," she explained in 1998, about her focus on marijuana legalization, because her chronic health issues required pain management, and

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

met her needs. In 1992, Gennoy was a member of San Francisco's New Stonewall Liberation Day board of directors. She gathered signatures for

Proposition 215 Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law permitting the use of medical cannabis despite marijuana's lack of the normal Food and Drug Administration testing for safety and efficacy. It was enacted, on November 5 ...

in 1996, and ran for the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

as a write-in candidate in 2000. In 2002 she ran again for the Board of Supervisors. She was part of the Dykes on Bikes contingent in the San Francisco Pride Parade. She wrote poetry for local lesbian publications.

Personal life and legacy

Gennoy was physically disabled, of short stature, and

hard of hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...

. She used a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

in adulthood, and underwent numerous surgeries. She died in 2004, at the age of 53, after throat surgery for

laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancers are mostly squamous-cell carcinomas, reflecting their origin from the epithelium of the larynx. Cancer can develop in any part of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumour. For the purposes of staging, ...

. She was one of the people commemorated by a quilt honoring disabled lesbians, created by Karen Hampton and exhibited at the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gennoy, Mary 1951 births 2004 deaths Activists from California Activists from San Francisco American activists with disabilities American cannabis activists American disability rights activists LGBT people from California People from Alameda, California San Francisco State University alumni Wheelchair users