The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-01-10
MANY LOCAL
 WOMEN WILL BE AFFECTED
By New Bill for Inde- pendent Citizenship for Women Recently Introduced in Con- greSS.

Although there is no way of deter 1 mining the exact number, it is esti- mated that quite few women in Bridgeport would be effected by the passage of the new bill for independ- ent citizenship for women recently in troduced before Congress. - The law as it now stands deprives a woman of her vote and privileges l of citizenship the moment she mar rles alien whether or no she has ever been outs her own country. E. Some of the a.bsurdities of the law were seen here during the war. In one case a Bridgeport girl had mar ried a man of German birth and al though she had always lived here she was considered an alien enemy and forced to- have her finger prints re- corded and to observe all the rules re- garding restricted zones made for such aliens Her brother had mar ried a sir! of German birth and this girl autt ma tically became an Aneri- can and had all the freedom of a citizen. So the American girl. who had never been away from Bridge pont, was considered an enemy and the German born girl was considered an American, because of their mar riages.
 Mrs. ". 1T. F1eclx said today that while she could make no estimate of the number of women in Brid geport so effected she was certain there were quite a number as at registration time
 
 from such women here.
 She told of one case were a woman had been married to and EngEshman and later divorced from him and did not even know where he might be To- cated, but under the law she was held to be English and so was not entitled to the privileges or citizenship in her own country.
 At the registrars of voters 1t was said that women frequently come in to inquire about their status in the case of marrying aliens.
 One woman who is engaged to marry an alien came recently to the registrars office to inquire about her status should she marry him inmed- lately. It seemed that he had taken out his, first papers. She holds Q. gov ernment position and was fearful of losing it if she lost her citizenship. would not be a citizen should she marry him until her husband was made one so she decided to put off the wedding two years until he be- comes a naturalized American.
 Another case that has excited a great deal of sympathy through out the state is that of a young Hartford girl who had passed her bar exam nations in, Connecticut and was en- titled to practice law here. She mar ried a young alien. who although he plans to become an American citizen, has not been in this country the re-
  through loss of her citizenship is pre- vented from practicing the profession to which she gave so many years of study.
 The National League of Women Voters stands back of the new bill, which is framed first to prevent American women who marry foreign CTS and continue to reside in the United States from losing their citi- zenship and second to prevent for eign women who marry. American men from acquiring the rights of citi- zenship because of that act. The law does not effect the citizen ship of the American woman who marries 8 foreigner and who resides elsewhere than in the United States. she will take the citizenship of her husband. Neither does it deprive of American citizenship any foreign woman now enjoying that privilege because of her marriage to an Ameri- can.
 The new bill will be discussed at the monthly meeting of the board of the League of Women Voters in Hart ford, on January II.