Mario showed up on John Woodman's blog a couple of days ago. He seems miffed that John has been taking apart his arguments point by point for the past few weeks. Most of the comments are in on this topic:
http://www.obamabirthbook.com/http:/www ... n-citizen/ballantine is there too. Mario claims that Jefferson supports his Vattle nonsense with his wording of the 1779 citizenship act. Mario makes this claim:
Apuzzo wrote:
Jefferson said in his 1779 citizenship law:
“[A]ll white persons born within the territory of this commonwealth . . . and all infants wheresoever born, whose father, if living, or otherwise, whose mother was a citizen at the time of their birth . . . shall be deemed citizens of this commonwealth, until they relinquish that character in manner herein after expressed.”
So, if you were at the time the law went into effect a “white person” who was born in Virginia, you were a citizen of Virginia. But if you were an infant born in Virginia, you became a citizen only if your father was a citizen. So Jefferson grandfathered white adults to be jus soli citizens. But for infants, they had to be born to citizen parents (jus sanguinis). Note that Jefferson did not require in his law that the infants had to be white, for by requiring that they followed the condition of their fathers it was not necessary for him to say so explicitly. Other than the racial element which was later removed from the Virginia citizenship laws, sure sounds like Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, which grandfathered “citizens of the United States” (by jus soli or naturalization) to be eligible to be President and then after the adoption of the Constitution, provided that they had to be “natural born Citizens” (only by jus soli and jus sanguinis combined) in order to be so eligible. Sure also sounds like the Naturalization Acts of 1790, 1795, 1802, and 1855, which provided that a child born in the United States or out of it to alien parents was himself or herself an alien.
Here is what the law actually said without the deceptive omissions:
Quote:
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that all white persons born within the territory of this commonwealth and all who have resided therein two years next before the passing of this act, and all who shall hereafter migrate into the same; and shall before any court of record give satisfactory proof by their own oath or affirmation, that they intend to reside therein, and moreover shall give assurance of fidelity to the commonwealth; and all infants wheresoever born, whose father, if living, or otherwise, whose mother was, a citizen at the time of their birth, or who migrate hither, their father, if living, or otherwise their mother becoming a citizen, or who migrate hither without father or mother, shall be deemed citizens of this commonwealth, until they relinquish that character in manner as herein after expressed: And all others not being citizens of any the United States of America, shall be deemed aliens…. And in order to preserve to the citizens of this commonwealth, that natural right, which all men have of relinquishing the country, in which birth, or other accident may have thrown them, and, seeking subsistance and happiness wheresoever they may be able, or may hope to find them: And to declare unequivocably what circumstances shall be deemed evidence of an intention in any citizen to exercise that right, it is enacted and declared, that whensoever any citizen of this commonwealth, shall by word of mouth …openly declare to the same court, that he relinquishes the character of a citizen,…such person shall be considered as having exercised his natural right of expatriating himself, and shall be deemed no citizen of this commonwealth from the time of his departure. The free white inhabitants of every of the states, parties to the American confederation, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be intitled to all rights, privileges, and immunities of free citizens in this commonwealth, and shall have free egress, and regress, to and from the same, and shall enjoy therein, all the privileges of trade, and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the citizens of this commonwealth….
Mario is trying to argue that the law relied on
jus soli for children born in Virginia up until the act was passed then magically changed to
jus sanguinus (but based primarily on the father's citizenship) after the law was enacted. The law was further clarified in 1783 to show that the meaning was that anyone (except a slave) born in Virginia was a citizen. ballantine quoted it:
Quote:
“Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That all free persons, born within the territory of this commonwealth; all persons not being natives, who have obtained a right to citizenship under the act intituled “An act declaring who shall be deemed citizens of this commonwealth;” and also all children wheresoever born, whose fathers or mothers are or were citizens at the time of the birth of such children, shall be deemed citizens of this commonwealth, until they relinquish that character in manner herein after mentioned;….’
The comments are worth a read just to show that Mario is willing to twist the meaning of plain English rather than admit he quoted the Virginia citizenship law without understanding what it said and that it really destroyed his case.
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