There’s an interesting case going on in Massachusetts right now. As most everyone knows, a couple of years ago their Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was legal. And ever since then, despite every effort by opponents, its backers have pulled every single shady, unethical, underhanded (and in some cases, outright illegal) to keep it from going before the people for a vote.
I happen to support gay marriage, but I strongly disagree with how it was done.
Nonetheless, it is the law of the land, no matter what I — or anyone else — thinks.
Even Stephen Dunne, law school graduate and would-be attorney.
Mr. Dunne recently took the bar exam — and did not pass. That’s because there was a question relating to gay marriage on it, and Mr. Dunne is a devout Catholic.
The question in question?
“Yesterday, Jane got drunk and hit (her spouse) Mary with a baseball bat, breaking Mary’s leg, when she learned that Mary was having an affair with Lisa. As a result, Mary decided to end her marriage with Jane in order to live in her house with (children) Philip (and) Charles and Lisa. What are the rights of Mary and Jane?”
Mr. Dunne said that answering the question would have been tantamount to endorsing gay marriage, and he could not in good conscience do that.
Um… no, Mr. Dunne, answering the question would have been tantamount to acknowledging that gay marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts — and it indisputably is.
Mr. Dunne wishes to become an attorney, but apparently he only wishes to practice the laws of God, not the laws of Man.
Attorneys don’t get to judge the law, Mr. Dunne. That is the prerogative of judges and legislators, not lawyers. Lawyers practice the law; they do not judge it, do not make it, do not amend it.
It seems that Mr. Dunne has wasted quite a bit of time and money. If he wants to devote himself to only those laws that are compatible with every aspect of his faith, then perhaps he should have gone into the Seminary instead of law school.
In the meantime, the state Bar says that they will keep questions related to gay marriage in the “rotation” for future bar exams — and they should. It’s currently one of the most contentious and convoluted and popular topics in the state, and new lawyers ought to understand just what it does — and does not — mean.
