Your Honor, Gay Marriage Violates My Client’s Right to Hate
Posted on | July 14, 2007
No, if you don’t like teh gay, and are frightened by the idea of gay marriage, you probably shouldn’t be practicing law in Massachusetts. That isn’t stopping Stephen Dunne from suing after failing the bar exam:
On June 25, 2007, Dunne filed a federal complaint after failing his Massachusetts bar exam with a score of 268.866 out of 400; 270.0 was required to pass. He believes that this is due to his refusal to answer a question that he says requires the test taker to “affirmatively accept, support and promote homosexual marriage and homosexual parenting,” and that the question violates his freedom of religion. Enthusiastically citing scripture, Dunne expresses his belief that the court ruling that affirmed same-sex marriage rights in Massachusetts, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, is “profoundly undemocratic and un-American,” and that the case is about “the protection and defense of Christianity.”
Dunne’s solicitation of funds, he says, will go further than just challenging his test results: He plans on suing to outlaw same-sex marriage in the only US state where it is currently recognized and given equal status to the extent of state law; marriages between individuals of the same sex are void at the federal level in the United States.
As our society evolves, bigots like Dunne should and will be left behind. In any case, when a would-be lawyer won’t promise to uphold the bare minimum of the law, he should probably expect to find some doors closed to him—especially in Massachusetts. I’m sure he could find a home here in Georgia where his little fetish is welcome.
