Many of you have asked about how the Minor v. Happersett definition of natural born citizen effects the eligibility of Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio to be President. First, let me reiterate that the Constitution should be applied to everyone equally. So, if Mitt, Marco, or anyone else meets the definition of Natural Born Citizen, they meet the minimum Constitutional qualifications to serve as President. If they don’t, they don’t.
The definition of Natural Born Citizen, as defined by the Supreme Court, has two elements: 1) you must be born in the U.S.; 2) both of your parents must be citizens of the U.S. at the time of your birth. If both of these elements are fulfilled, you are a Natural Born Citizen. Assuming Mitt was born in the U.S. and both of his parents were U.S. citizens at that time, then he is a NBC. I’ve been told, but don’t know for sure, that Marco was born here, but that his parents didn’t naturalize until Marco was 14 years old. If this is true, then Marco Rubio can never be a Natural Born Citizen. He can be a Senator, his children could be President, but Marco doesn’t meet the minimum Constitutional qualifications to be President. This means that he can’t be VP either.
Understand that this is a Constitutional matter. It has nothing to do with the experience, value, or skills of the individuals. Our Constitution simply says that you must meet the Natural Born Citizen requirements or you cannot be President.
