From: dhartung@chinet.chi.il.us (Dan Hartung)
Subject: Re: Picard/Riker '96 (was Re: Wesley Crusher is returning???)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access UNIX
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 15:16:31 GMT

kluster@gumby.cs.caltech.edu (Kevin Luster) writes:
>jlindqui@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (Body Double for Aunt Esther) writes:
>
>>citizen, that makes Sarek a citizen, too.  And Spock, as the offspring of
>>an American citizen, is a _natural-born_ US citizen, eligible for the
>>office of President or Vice-President once he reached the appropriate age.
>
>I believe that In order to be eligible to be President of the U.S. you
>must be a natural citizen who was born IN THE US. Having American

No, it does not say that specifically.  "natural born" is the wording
and that has never been further defined.

>parents and being born outside the U.S. makes you an American citizen,
>but ineligble to become President. I'm unsure as to what the situation
>is if you're born on the grounds of an American Embassy, since Embassy
>grounds are supposed to be considered as the soil of the country who
>occupies the embassy. This rule about having to be born in the U.S.
>unfortunately affects any person whose parents were serving abroad in
>the U.S. military and bore the child in a foreign country.  I suppose
>that if any serious candidate emerges who falls into this category
>then Congress could modify the Constitution. I'm not sure what "natural

Um, "Congress" can't.  The states would have to.  The fastest that'
ever been done is about 3-4 years.

>born" means since it doesn't seem to be defined in the Constitution
>proper.

Actually, it has been discussed from time to time that this is a gray
area that has not been defined by Congress or the courts.

It probably won't be decided until someone who was in fact born
on foreign soil is elected.  There would have to be a challenge
though -- if nobody objects, it may become a null issue.

>Now the bit about Spock having been a citizen because his mother was:
>Sarek was not automatically made a U.S. citizen, he would be eligible
>if he desired to be, but that would have required him to relinquish
>his Vulcan citizenship which I imagine would have made him ineligble
>to be the Ambassador from Vulcan. Spock would have been born with dual
>citizenships (assuming that Vulcan followed standard Earth practices)
>and when Spock reached 18 he would have to decide upon which citizenship
>he wished to keep. Also note that in order to be President you must have
>resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

Actually, this depends on the laws of the other country.  U.S. law does
not require one to decide forever on which one to renounce.  There are
a number of variables involved, including what one has done over the
years to keep one's citizenship "active" and whethere one has ever
acted against the U.S. 

Most countries do not acutally require renouncing.

Milan Panic, for example, became a naturalized US citizen but returned
to Yugoslavia to run for Prime Minister -- and now President.  I haven't
read anything about this meaning he has permanently renounced his 
US citizenship.  Even if we were to declare war against Serbia/Yugoslavia
I suspect a judge would view his case favorably if he were kicked out
and wanted to return to the U.S.

(Let's all hope he wins and can stop this bloody war.)

-- 
The Presidential Towers complex here   | Dan Hartung               |  Ask me
in Chicago is bounded by four streets: | dhartung@chinet.chi.il.us |  about
Jefferson, Adams, Monroe  .....        | Birch Grove Software      | Rotaract!
        and Clinton!
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