Birthers and The U.S. Code; Fuck Birth Certificates
Listening to Orly Taitz and the Birthers say crazy shit made me wonder if there is a way to argue for Obama's status of "natural born citizen" without relying upon the existence of a birth certificate. If one grants the Birther's premise that Obama was born in Kenya to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro is it possible for Barack Obama to be considered a 'natural born citizen' absent a birth certificate from Hawaii?
It seemed sensible to check TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER III > Part I > § 1401 of the U.S. code which provides eight criteria by which one may be considered a citizen of the United States at birth. Just for fun, let's go through them assuming
1) Barack Obama was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961.
2) Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro, is a U.S. Citizen.
3) Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., is neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. national.
Alright, Birthers. Game on!
(a) a person born in the United States...
Nope
(b) a person born in the United States...
Nope
(c) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States...
Nope; This doesn't look good!
(d) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States who has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year prior to the birth of such person, and the other of whom is a national, but not a citizen of the United States;
Nope. Remember, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. is neither a national nor a citizen.
(e) a person born in an outlying possession of the United States...
Nope. Remember, we are assuming that Obama was born in Kenya; Kenya is not an "outlying posession" of the United States.
(f) a person of unknown parentage found in the United States...
Nope. The Birther's argument rests on our knowing who Obama's parents are. But I do find great delight in the fact that we have a provision for "if we find a kid".
(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years...
Huzzah! Barack Obama is a Natural Born United States Citizen! Given that Barack Obama's mother is a U.S. Citizen, was born in 1942, and enrolled in the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in 1960 she would have been in the United States for 18 years and fulfilled section G of TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER III > Part I > § 1401 of the U.S. Code.
Better luck next time, shitheads.
2 comments:
The full text of G is:
"a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person
(A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, or
(B) employed by the United States Government or an international organization as defined in section 288 of title 22, may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24, 1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its present form on that date"
The "Provided" qualifies that military service, government service, etc. outside of the geographic United States "may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph."
*applauds*
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