Governor Brewer Vetoes Arizona’s “Birther Bill”
The Arizona legislature passed a bill requiring that candidates for president prove their natural born citizenship before getting on the ballot. It’s being called the “birther bill,” but really one need not buy into the conspiracy theories about President Obama’s birth to support this bill.
But, apparently, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer didn’t want the stigma of being associated with it.
(CNN) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill late Monday that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were American citizens, born in the United States, before their names could have been placed on the state ballot.
The so-called “birther bill” got final approval in the state House last week. Now that Brewer, a Republican, has vetoed it, the bill will not become law unless legislators vote to override her veto.
“As a former Secretary of State, I do not support designating one person as a gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions,” the governor wrote in a letter addressed to the Arizona House speaker.
Under the measure, if there were any dispute about whether a candidate had proved he or she had been born in the United States, Arizona’s secretary of state would have the final say.
“This measure creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona,” she added.
Governor Brewer appeared on Fox news last night to discuss her veto of this bill and another that would have allowed guns to be carried on state campuses.
I honestly don’t see the problem with the “birther bill.” Natural born citizenship is required by the US Constitution. Why can’t a state require proof that a given candidate fulfills that constitutional requirement?
If we don’t like the requirement we should remove it from the Constitution. Otherwise, shouldn’t we make sure candidates abide by it?
Of course, after the beating Governor Brewer took on Arizona’s illegal immigration bill she probably doesn’t want to invoke the wrath of the liberal left all over again over an issue as relatively trivial as this.
Tags: arizona, birtherism, jan brewer
