Got citizenship?
Those are the words that line T-shirts made by obamacrimes.com, a website that insists President Barack Obama is not a United States Citizen.
The website is one of many that questions the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship, even after a Certification of Live Birth was presented by Obama’s campaign in 2008. Hawaiian officials have twice verified Obama's birth records.
Now, Arizona lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require presidential candidates to provide their long-form birth certificates to remain on the ballot in the state of Arizona.
Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley, is sponsoring the bill, in addition to 30 co-sponsors. The bill, which is referred to as the “birther bill,” was introduced last year but did not make it through both chambers, The Huffington Post reported.
The claims that Obama is not a U.S. citizen are ridiculous, and it’s hard to believe that some lawmakers and citizens legitimately believe otherwise.
Have Americans seen the birth records of former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan? Why not?
Asserting that Obama is not a U.S. citizen is like claiming these celebrated presidents are not U.S. citizens.
Furthermore, countless hours and ample resources are being shoveled into the proposed legislation. Those resources and hours should be devoted to the several more serious matters that face the state of Arizona.
K-12 education is taking major cuts, nearly 300,000 Arizonans face losing Medicaid coverage, gun laws are of the most lenient in the country and violence along the U.S.-Mexico border continues.
Is this really the time to propose foolish legislation oh-so-subtly directed at Obama’s citizenship? I think not. Lawmakers need to take a look at the critical issues facing Arizonans. Arizonans need jobs, better education and improved health coverage – not a birth certificate that proves Obama is a U.S. citizen.
E.J. Montini, in a column in The Arizona Republic, said “The bill is an attempt by Burges and others to keep President Obama off the next presidential ballot, something obviously more important to them than the fact that the state is billions of dollars in the hole with vital programs being cut and sick people being condemned to death.”
There are several other problems with the proposed legislation. The East Valley Tribune reported that the legislation would require that the long-form birth certificate include “the names of the attending physician and the signatures of witnesses.”
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett in an article said, “If you were delivered at home with a midwife, does that mean you are no longer qualified to be the president of the United States? If there aren't any signatures of witnesses in attendance, you're no longer qualified?''
Bennett makes a valid point, and lawmakers should take heed of his comments.
But the fact of the matter is they probably won’t, and as a result, Arizona will be caught in yet another unproductive controversy. If the “birther bill” doesn’t pass, lawmakers have wasted valuable time and achieved nothing, perhaps getting the state of Arizona into another controversial lawsuit. If it does pass, the nation will learn, once again, that Obama is in fact a U.S. Citizen.
When that happens, I will be among the first sporting a T-shirt that says “Got Citizenship? Yes, he does.”
Send other T-shirt slogans to Emilie at eeeaton@asu.edu
