New Hampshire Lawmakers Call For Investigation Into Obama's Ballot Eligibility, Citizenship

A group of New Hampshire lawmakers asked the state attorney general's office Tuesday to investigate whether President Barack Obama meets the eligibility requirements to appear on the state's ballot, after their previous attempt to remove his name from the ballot was rejected in November.

Republican state Reps. Laurence Rappaport and Carol and Lucien Vita, say that Obama is not a natural-born citizen because his father was Kenyan. "This is not a birther issue, not a consideration of where Mr. Obama was born," Rappaport said, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. "Our concern is only if he is a natural-born citizen."

The Congressional Research Service wrote in 2011, "There is no provision in the Constitution and no controlling American case law to support a contention that the citizenship of one's parents governs the eligibility of a native born U.S. citizen to be president."

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. The White House released the president's long-form birth certificate in April after his campaign released a scanned copy. Some, however, refuse to believe the veracity of the document.

The attorney general's office doesn't plan to respond. "There's no request in it," said Associate Attorney General Richard Head, according to the Concord Monitor. "I honestly can't figure it out."

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said it showed how "crazy town" has taken over the statehouse.

The New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission rejected an effort in November led by the group's attorney, "birther queen" Orly Taitz, to remove Obama's name from the ballot. After the commission unanimously rejected the effort, members in the crowd shouted "Traitors!" and "Shame on you!"

Assistant Attorney General Matt Mavrogeorge and Assistant Secretary of State Karen Ladd locked themselves in an office and called authorities because they feared for their safety, saying that crowd members were banging at the door and yelling. The state attorney general has asked state police to investigate the incident.

Comments

[whiskyjack]

06:23 PM on 01/30/2012

There is no evidence that will be good enough. There is no birth certificate that is real enough. And there are no doctors credible enough, to help change the fact that birthers can't get over the fact that Obama's skin is black. End of story.

[RationalDubSteppa]

02:06 PM on 01/31/2012

Beautifully said!!!

[xcitemint]

02:29 PM on 01/31/2012

Maybe you could get off of the "Birther" BS long enough to see what is at issue. In "MINOR V. HAPPERSETT" the Supreme Court defined a “native or natural-born citizen” as a person born in the US to parents who were citizens. The Constitution states that after adoption of the Constitution that the President must be a natural born citizen. Simply stated, McCain was not eligible, Obama is not eligible nor is Romney if his father was born in Mexico. The question is will the SCOTUS ruling be ignored.

[bdaved]

12:34 PM on 02/08/2012

Not many judges are going to agree with that interpretation of Minor.

[philliplojek]

02:15 PM on 01/30/2012

What difference does it make? Barry will lose in November.

[bronxlcsw]

01:42 PM on 01/30/2012

Look bottom line none of this matters. What does matter is that the economy is creating jobs again. Not at a blistering pace but creating them nonetheless. America is safe in Obamas hands and he will win re-election. When he does i have some leftover suicide kits from 2008. i will sell at a discount to all who want to off themselves once Obama wins re-election.

[SFino24601]

07:07 PM on 01/28/2012

The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to a person as soon as they are born on US soil. The citizenship of Obama's father is irrelevant.

[xcitemint]

04:06 PM on 01/31/2012

Do your homework - the Constitution requires a "natural born citizen" not just a "citizen". There is a difference evidenced by the fact that the Senate introduced and passed Resolution 511 stating that John McCain was a natural born citizen by virtue of the fact that he was born on American held territory to two current US citizens and was eligible to run for and hold the office of president.
The purpose was simple, natural born citizen is defined as a person that is born in the US with both parents being US citizens. McCain was not born in the US however his parents were citizens.
The congressional record shows that multiple bills have been introduced over the years to alter the natural born citizen requirement but none of them passed.

[SFino24601]

04:21 PM on 01/31/2012

Actually I have done my homework, and no, it only requires that you are born on US soil. United States v. Wong Kim Ark decided that a child born to two Chinese immigrant families was a natural born citizen due to being born on US soil.

[xcitemint]

05:11 PM on 01/31/2012

Interesting thought about the 14th amendment the only problem is that if the 14th amendment applies then the person is clearly a citizen and NOT a natural born citizen. Natural as in both parents are US citizens and the birth occurs in the US.

[OdinsEye]

06:06 PM on 01/20/2012

Look folks,

There are two ways to become a citizen of the US (not counting the aquisition of territories): Birthright and naturalization (courts).

To be a US citizen by birthright, a person must either be born on US soils OR at least one parent must be a US citizen at the time of birth. It is NOT a requirement for both parents to be citizens in order for the child to be a US citizen by birthright.

[xcitemint]

03:40 PM on 01/31/2012

Where are you coming up with "birthright" and why is it even relevant? The question is how is "natural born citizen" defined as required for the president?

[OdinsEye]

06:41 PM on 01/31/2012

Natural born citizen = citizen by borth = citizen by birthright. There are only to types of citizens, those who are citizens by birth and those who are naturalized. To be a citizen by birth, only one parent needs to be a citizen OR the birth has to take place on US soil. Obama's mother was a citizen AND the birth took place on US soil.

[PatriotAZ]

04:13 PM on 02/15/2012

True. But to be President the requirement is that the person is a natural born citizen--both parents are US citizens.

[OdinsEye]

05:06 PM on 02/15/2012

Natural born = citizen by birth. There are only two types of citizens = those by birth and those by court (AKA naturalized). Only one parent needs to be a citizen.

[kensp]

12:18 PM on 01/20/2012

Uh oh. With the election getting close, the Repubs are trying to put some distance between themselves and the conspiracy theorists they have been pandering to for 3 years now. Looks like some idiots in New Hampshire didn't get the message yet.

[buckx]

10:57 AM on 01/18/2012

the majority of liberals i have known over the years all suffer from a genetic defect. this is known as a dna event or better known as a mutational event. just like some people are light skinned, brown eyes, etc. some mutations have beneffited the human race, ie., dark skin, less skin cancer which is very high in caucasians. however, when you lack the work ethic, expect something by "gaming" the system, rely on others,etc, this leads to liberalism. socialist (communist) marxism etc, has never worked, but liberals seem to continue their odd behavior. leaders of liberals attempt to lead others as they consider themselves the "elite", and basically want to keep their followers as lower class and working for them. in a way, a form of slavery.

[whiskyjack]

06:14 PM on 01/30/2012

That...is by far the weirdest thing I've read on hear. Really? Where do you guys get your ideas from?

[buckx]

07:46 PM on 01/30/2012

we get them from our forefathers who all had what is known as THE WORK ETHIC. some people havi, some don't. thank god for people who are not of liberal (bad genes) bent.

[OdinsEye]

12:59 PM on 01/09/2012

"Republican state Reps. Laurence Rappaport and Carol and Lucien Vita, say that Obama is not a natural-born citizen because his father was Kenyan. "

Oh puhleeze! Are these two so ignorant of citizenship laws that they are really going to make that absurd assertion? At least the birth certificate issue had some grounding in US law, but this claim is just silly.

[lspeachie]

11:12 AM on 01/18/2012

CONGRESS was the one who said that a NATURAL BORN CITIIZEN is a person born in the US to parents that are both citizens when that baby was born!!!

[OdinsEye]

05:29 PM on 01/18/2012

Congress said that only one parent had to be a US citizen for the child to be a US citizen.

[gkonig2]

10:55 AM on 01/30/2012

OK, prove your statement with your sources or get an education. In what document did Congress say what you claim. Stop making things up.

[PatriotAZ]

02:14 PM on 01/18/2012

Obama actually has not shown his birth certificate. He showed a photo copy at best which was discredited by the person that actually created the birth certificate on the web. So, here's the question--if Obama is truly an American Citizen (has both parents as citizens upon his birth and born in the United States) then why does he hide the one document that could prove his citizenship? And, why do his relatives in Kenya continually attest to his birth in Kenya? Too many things that don' line up and Obama not be forthcoming leads many of us to question.

[OdinsEye]

05:28 PM on 01/18/2012

Oh puhleese, not that same old tired argument again.

[biskitdaddy]

12:53 PM on 01/30/2012

The 'AZ' explains everything.

[darth leroy]

08:47 AM on 01/09/2012

Enough with the Birther business already. You folks have lost and you're giving the rest of us a bad name. Time to figure this out if there was anything to figure out was back in 2007. The window is shut. Let it go. I dislike our President's policies and political views as much as the next person, but this is not the way to go about getting him out of office. It is however a perfect way to cement yourselves as buffoons in the court of public opinion.

[LeftRight]

06:44 PM on 01/09/2012

While I disagree with your politics, you state the issue perfectly! Have a fave!

[darth leroy]

11:01 PM on 01/09/2012

thank you.

[lspeachie]

11:14 AM on 01/18/2012

Since he was not vetted in 2007, he needs to be before the election this year.

[PatriotAZ]

02:15 PM on 01/18/2012

If Mitt Romney's citizenship is going to be questioned and he will have to prove his citizenship then so should Obama--now is the time.

[TwinX]

05:31 AM on 01/20/2012

Obama proved his eligibility in June, 2008.

Mr Romney is currently two State Certified birth certificates adrift of Obama, as far as that goes.

And please don't re-spout your fantasy '2 parent citizen's' nonsense that a poker player has-been lawyer came up with around November 2008. Everyone knows it's BS except for a few crackpot birthers who fall for every lie birthers tell them.

[braziliancongo]

08:18 AM on 01/09/2012

Minor v. Happersett is controlling American case law that defines a natural born citizen as one who is born to citizen parents. In establishing Virginia Minor's citizenship, the Court defined the “class” of “natural-born citizens” as those born in the US to parents who were citizens, without referring to the 14th Amendment and by specifically construing Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution. It was precedent and it remains the only legal definition of "natural born citizen. Ergo, where Obama was born is irrelevant. Furthermore, under the definition of natural born citizen desired by Obama supporters, which has no basis in law, a child born in the U.S. of an American citizen mother and Kim Jong Un would be qualified to be POTUS. The bottom line is that the Founders constructed a generational firewall for POTUS eligibility.

[LeftRight]

06:45 PM on 01/09/2012

Minor said NOTHING about a person born in the USA with one citizen parent and one non-citizen parent. It was a case about whether a citizen automatically had the right to vote, and in fact CONFIRMED that a person born within the jurisdiction of the United States is a citizen from birth, and therefore a NATURAL BORN US CITIZEN!

[lspeachie]

11:14 AM on 01/18/2012

Sorry...a citizen from birth and a NATURAL BORN US CITIZEN are 2 different things.

[xcitemint]

02:48 PM on 01/31/2012

Maybe you should get someone to interpret for you.“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.” Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162, 168.
Parents is plural, citizens is plural. You can spin it any way you like but maybe you can share with us why the Constitution states the time that the president may be a citizen and when he must be a natural born citizen. What differentiates a citizen from a natural born citizen?

[Splevich]

10:17 PM on 01/05/2012

This dispute is over whether Obama can be declared a natural-born citizen. It is not over his place of birth.
The Supreme Court has defined ‘natural-born citizen’ as a person born to two parents who were both U.S. citizens at the time of the natural-born citizen’s birth. Since Obama's father was never a U.S. Citizen, Obama can never be a natural-born citizen.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/01/court-obama-must-be-constitutionally-eligible/

[TS]

05:46 AM on 01/06/2012

That is false. The supreme court has never defined natural born citizenship as requiring two parents that were citizens and there's nothing in the poorly reasoned article you link to that proves that to be the case. You do understand that World Net Daily isn't a real news source don't you?

[Splevich]

07:01 PM on 01/06/2012

You will need to tell all of that to Judge Michael Malihi on January 26th, the day the hearing is set for in this matter.

[rcole1959]

01:06 AM on 01/08/2012

it is true, Minor vs. Happersett 1877, the Supreme Court ruled on just that very thing. the article only mentions a 19 century court decision.

[TwinX]

10:04 AM on 01/06/2012

LOL :-) More birther lunacy.

Good luck telling hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of citizens that they're not Natural Born according to your fantasy Constitutional Requirements and mis-cites of ancient cases!

[Splevich]

04:24 PM on 01/06/2012

Hundreds of thousands of citizens are not running for the president of the United States.

[rcole1959]

01:09 AM on 01/08/2012

its not a birther notion...it does not matter where he was born, he could have been on Mars, as long as his mother is a citizen,so is he. the court defined the difference between a naturalized citizen and a natural born citizen.

[David Rev]

10:10 PM on 01/05/2012

Whether you are a black president or a white president, everyone must follow our Constitution. When Obama abuses Article II, Section 1 of our Constitution, it is not a racist comment but reality. Why do liberals always play the race card when they are faced with the facts and truth? Why don't they just be men and women and admit they are wrong? I definitely would.

[TS]

05:52 AM on 01/06/2012

What are you talking about? There is no portion of the simple language composing article 2, section 1 that states a president must have been born to two citizen parents. If you're comment isn't racist, it is at the least wholly ignorant of the content of the portion of the constitution you reference. There are neither facts nor truth in your post, only a sad and pitiful attempt to claim the article in questions ays something it clearly does not.

[David Rev]

06:56 AM on 01/06/2012

Nothing to do with a president must have been born to two citizen parents. Article II, Section 1 of our Constitution does state that Obama must be a "natural born" citizen of the United States which Obama isn't. Last time I looked at a map, Kenya was not in the United States.

[xcitemint]

03:08 PM on 01/31/2012

Before calling anyone ignorant, here is Article II, Section I, Clause 5: "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; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."
Note the President could simply be a Citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution as an exception versus the requirement of a natural born citizen. The question was what is a natural born citizen? In MINOR V. HAPPERSETT the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision defined a “native or natural-born citizen” as a person born in the US to parents who were citizens.
Natural born goes beyond citizenship, it becomes "natural" because they are born within the US to parents (plural) that are US citizens.
Obama was not eligible nor was McCain and currently Romney (if his father was born in Mexico) is not eligible either.
The question is simply will the SCOTUS ruling be overlooked or enforced

[lspeachie]

11:18 AM on 01/18/2012

obama and his regime plays the race card hoping that will get him re-elected. You are a racist if you vote for obama because he is black!!!

[Robert del Barrio]

02:01 PM on 01/30/2012

No im voting for obama because he is the sanest candidate out there. I don't care if he was born pink.

[lspeachie]

09:47 PM on 01/30/2012

you may think he is sane, but he is socializing this nation. he needs 4 more years because he hasn't completely destroyed this great nation of ours. countries in Europe are trying to become more like the US and we are being taken down the pea patch by your great pres. you need to talk to people like my husband who have lived under communism/socialism. you are blind to what he is doing. the gov't. is growing larger, making more people dependent on the gov't. because of what he is doing to keep businesses from growing...instead they are cutting back instead of hiring more people. also owned a business and know what it is like to not have the $ to expand. obamacare is a socialist program and i saw the clip where obama said that "the affordable care act" is not about "health care" but about "REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH". if you work, you should be against him, if you do not want to work, you will vote for obama again. I wqtch Fox news which tells us both sides of the story. the liberal stations do not. the house has passed a budget every year, but the democratic senate won't pass it. it probably hasn't even came up for a vote...don't know. geithner is going to Europe this week; he will most likely give more $ to help out the nations that are going under...does NOT matter that he is taking our country down...

[mwsomerset]

09:45 PM on 01/05/2012

It's apparent from many of these birther posts....You can't fix stupid.

[Catsinthecradle]

03:55 AM on 01/06/2012

You can say that again!

[madfoot]

05:00 AM on 01/06/2012

I don't see any birther posts.

[TS]

12:17 PM on 01/06/2012

It's amazing you're producing so few typos for a blind man then.

[LeftRight]

08:52 PM on 01/08/2012

So how then are you posting so many of them?

[mirrorwrlds]

07:22 PM on 01/05/2012

Orily Taitz is the poster child why you need to take your psychiatric medication. Would we even be asking this question about John McCain because he was born in Pananma? I don't think so.

[DawnKessler]

06:19 AM on 01/06/2012

Asked in 2008 and answered. Where were you?

[LeftRight]

06:27 AM on 01/09/2012

Yes it was, for about a half second.

[twoangels]

07:43 AM on 01/06/2012

John McCain's father was an Admiral in the US Navy stationed in the Panama Canal zone at a time a US base. He was born in a US hospital and most Democrats were questioning his birth certificate too. But he had a long form of it and it was not a scanned copy.

[TwinX]

10:06 AM on 01/06/2012

he had a long form of it and it was not a scanned copy.

How do you know?

[giant1]

05:02 PM on 01/06/2012

Would you kindly supply documentation from "most Democrats" questioning McCain's citizenship . How a bout " a lotta Democrats" ...... , "a few" , ......? "3" ?

[foxynoise]

06:04 PM on 01/05/2012

Republicons have nothing better to do. They have no viable candidates; no viable plans and no discernible intelligence thus they are left hunting ghosts!