Thanks for your posting.
There is also the possibility that “they” do not “all know” and understand the significance of the “Natural Born Citizen Question”.
Those speaking out (or failing to speak out)about eligibility matters in the courts as well as in the media and in the Congress do not seem to understand this central question. If a judge or former judge has never encountered Vattel’s influential work (known well by the Founders) and if he or she does not understand the difference between a “native born citizen” and a “natural born citizen”, then such a person may truly not know what the issues are and may not understand the “Natural Born Citizen Question”.
Most people in the media seem to think that key question is whether or not Mr. Obama was born in the U.S. This is not the key question. The key question is whether or not “dual citizenship” at birth renders even a native born citizen ineligible for the Presidency.
Mr. Obama acknowledges his dual citizenship at birth. It is also noted in the short form Certification of Live Birth, versions of which are displayed online.
Most people think “native born” and “natural born” mean the same thing. They do not. The Founders would not have written Article 2, Section 1 using the wording that they used if “native born” and “natural born” had identical meanings. Why would they have specified that no one born after the Constitution became law could be a dual citizen at birth and be eligible for the Presidency?
A website that might be helpful to those in the Judiciary as well as other public officials and the media, and the public is http://eligibilityquestions.com .
How to tell if you are a British citizen
If you were born before 1 January 1983
On 1 January 1983, anyone who was a citizen of the UK and Colonies on 31 December 1982, and had the ‘right of abode’ in the UK, became a British citizen.
‘Right of abode’ means you are entirely free from UK Immigration Control and don’t need to get permission from an Immigration Officer to enter the UK and can live and work in the UK without restriction.
This includes people who:
* were born in the UK
* were born in a British colony and had the right of abode in the UK
* have been naturalised in the UK
* had registered as a citizen of the UK and Colonies
* could prove legitimate descent from a father to whom one of these applies
People who had the right to live in the UK but not the ‘right of abode’ did not become British citizens.