Earlier in November of this year, a group of McConnell Scholars participated in the Southeast Regional for the American Collegiate Moot Court Association.
The case that the leadership assigned us was simple enough in its facts. But beyond these simple facts, the deeper issue before the Court crept out of the depths: whether Congress had the power to enact the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, and whether or not a state could refuse to recognize same-sex marriage within their jurisdiction for the purpose of this act. As arguments panned out, the complexity of both issues--issues that have divided and will continue to divide the nation--emerged. While contestants were not required to make known their own opinion, supported or unsupported, one cannot help but to re-examine in light of these arguments some of the assumptions that may have proven foundational to their worldview.
For a fictional case, the issues were very real. Moot Court has given me great cause for reflection.