Hawaii to pass the "Coverup" bill

[frau kaleun]

Where is "natural born" legally defined as "born on US soil"? If it is so defined in US federal law, I will concede the point. However I have not seen it so defined in the Constitutional requirements for the office, or in any of the sources (admittedly nowhere near an exhaustive list) I've looked at regarding citizenship.

Actually, looking at the Constitutional requirements, it says:

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;

Emphasis mine. I realize it's probably a result of an antiquated comma placement, but I suppose if I wanted to I could take that phrase to mean that anyone who was not already a citizen at the time of the official adoption of the Constitution doesn't qualify. Of course that would mean that no one born anywhere after that date would qualify, since it's impossible to be a citizen before one actually exists.

[August]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Where is "natural born" legally defined as "born on US soil"? If it is so defined in US federal law, I will concede the point. However I have not seen it so defined in the Constitutional requirements for the office, or in any of the sources (admittedly nowhere near an exhaustive list) I've looked at regarding citizenship.

Actually, looking at the Constitutional requirements, it says:



Emphasis mine. I realize it's probably a result of an antiquated comma placement, but I suppose if I wanted to I could take that phrase to mean that anyone who was not already a citizen at the time of the official adoption of the Constitution doesn't qualify. Of course that would mean that no one born anywhere after that date would qualify, since it's impossible to be a citizen before one actually exists.

The word "or" is key here I think...

[CaptainHaplo]

I will defer to the US Supreme Court on this one:

The Constitution does not, in words, say who shall be natural-born citizens. Resort must be had elsewhere to ascertain that. At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners. Some authorities go further and include as citizens children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their parents. As to this class there have been doubts, but never as to the first. For the purposes of this case it is not necessary to solve these doubts. It is sufficient for everything we have now to consider that all children born of citizen parents within the jurisdiction are themselves citizens. (Minor v. Happerset 88 US 162)

and

It thus clearly appears that by the law of England for the last three centuries, beginning before the settlement of this country, and continuing to the present day, aliens, while residing in the dominions possessed by the crown of England, were within the allegiance, the obedience, the faith or loyalty, the protection, the power, and the jurisdiction of the English sovereign; and therefore every child born in England of alien parents was a natural-born subject, unless the child of an ambassador or other diplomatic agent of a foreign state, or of an alien enemy in hostile occupation of the place where the child was born. III. The same rule was in force in all the English colonies upon this continent down to the time of the Declaration of Independence, and in the United States afterwards, and continued to prevail under the constitution as originally established. (United States v. Wong Kim Ark 169 US 649)

A few other cases are listed on that bane of a data site - Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_born_citizen

Birthers, I love the slang terms that political opposition groups come up with to silence people.

The term isn't there to silence these idiots, its to publicise them.

Then there is this.....

[mookiemookie]

Oh good lord, are there still crackpots who believe in this stuff?

Birthers will never ever be happy with any evidence, no matter how damning, that ever could be released on this. They have no concept of testing a null hypothesis. Any evidence to the contrary of their opinion is discarded as false, simply because they have themselves convinced that Obama was not born in Hawaii. Nothing will ever change their minds of that. I'd shut the books and tell them to screw off too. Save everyone the time, money and hassle of dealing with these lunatics.

[AVGWarhawk]

I ordered my copy before this law is passed.

[August]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Oh good lord, are there still crackpots who believe in this stuff?

Birthers will never ever be happy with any evidence, no matter how damning, that ever could be released on this. They have no concept of testing a null hypothesis. Any evidence to the contrary of their opinion is discarded as false, simply because they have themselves convinced that Obama was not born in Hawaii. Nothing will ever change their minds of that. I'd shut the books and tell them to screw off too. Save everyone the time, money and hassle of dealing with these lunatics.

Yeah they remind me of the "Bush stole the Y2K election" people and the folks who think 9-11 was an inside job.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah they remind me of the "Bush stole the Y2K election" people and the folks who think 9-11 was an inside job.

Similar to those crackhead Tea Party nuts. Each Presidents seems to spurn their opposition groups.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah they remind me of the "Bush stole the Y2K election" people and the folks who think 9-11 was an inside job.

What? Why, I happen to know for a fact...

Or is that "I happen to know somebody who knows somebody who knows..."

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah they remind me of the "Bush stole the Y2K election" people

Had a friend then that was a Gore supporter - that was pretty much her reaction when Bush won.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah they remind me of the "Bush stole the Y2K election" people and the folks who think 9-11 was an inside job.

For once, we agree.