Obama IS without a doubt (in my opinion a citizen), his mother was a citizen, thus making him a citizen at birth. But that is not the point. The point is, the supreme court has never clarified what exactly “natural born citizen” as stated in the constitution actually means.
Does it simply mean you were born a citizen?
Does dual citizenship affect it?
Does renouncing your citizenship affect it?
Does living your whole life overseas affect it?
What if you were a anchor baby of two illegals?
Can you lose it? and if so how?
And what about things like embryo or sperm donation?
Does citizenship transfer with the eggs or sperm, or is the birth mothers citizenship status the only factor?
ect, ect, ect...
Forget freaking Obama for now, these are legitimate questions that I just want answers to, I don't expect the police to drag obama kicking and screaming from the white house. But I would like these answers clarified, so that in the future there are clearly defined rules for who can be President.
Face it, we live in a vastly different world than the forefathers could ever have imagined. Science and the ease of travel are blurring the lines of what it means to be a parent, a citizen, or even a human being.
Not according to the citizenship laws that were on the books at the time of his birth.
The law as written at that time said that, in order for Ann Dunham to have conveyed simple US citizenship to her son, she would have had to have physically lived within the borders of the US for a period of at least ten years, five of which had to have been after the age of 14.
Ann Dunham was 18 at the time of Obama's birth, thus she could not legally convey even simple US citizenship to him, no matter where he was born.
Add to that, the fact that Obama's father is well known to have been a Kenyan national, and you quickly realize that the man is probably not even an American citizen, much less a Natural Born Citizen, as required by the US Constitution.
It doesn't matter what your opinion is on this issue. The law in effect at the time of Obama's birth determines it. According to that law, if Obama was born abroad to an alien father and an American citizen mother less than 19 years of age, he was not an American citizen at birth. There, that settles it!
Does it [being a natural born citizen] simply mean you were born a citizen?
Yes. See US v. Kim Wong Ark.
Does dual citizenship affect it?
No. US citizenship status is a matter of US law, not foreign law. If another country declares you to be their citizen, it in no way impacts your status as a US citizen.
Does renouncing your citizenship affect it?
Yes, but irrelevant, since Obama never renounced his citizenship. If he had, there would be a public record.
Does living your whole life overseas affect it?
If you mean it literally, then yes, since you have to have lived in the US for at least 15 years to be president. Unfortunately, Bambi meets this requirement, as he continuously lived in the US from a young age. It was 10 years old, I believe, but I don't remember the exact age. At any rate, it's not important, since it's undisputed that he's lived here for a lot longer than 15 years.
What if you were a anchor baby of two illegals?
That's the one question that's not definitively settled.
Can you lose it? and if so how?
Yes. US law clearly outlines how it is possible to lose one's citizenship. Google it.
And what about things like embryo or sperm donation?Does citizenship transfer with the eggs or sperm,
No. Egg and sperm donors don't have legal parental rights.
or is the birth mothers citizenship status the only factor?
It's only a factor if the child is not born in the USA.