The whole reason the AMERICAN PUBLIC cannot get credible information as to whether Obama was born in Hawaii along with other information revealing his past experiences seems to be Obama asserting a privacy right over his personal information. This right to privacy comes from State law and maybe could also have a basis in Federal law. But how can someone running for President of the United States, a public position to say the least, have any reasonable expectation of privacy over his or her personal information regarding who he or she is or what he or she has done in the past. How could any person running for President not reasonably expect to have to satisfy the Constitutional requirement that he or she is a "natural born Citizen?" How could any such individual reasonably expect to put legal blocks up which prevent the public from learning whether he or she is in fact a "natural born Citizen?"
Being President of the United States involves protecting national security at its highest level. Given that the United States is a nuclear superpower which can destroy the world and send all its inhabitants to their respective afterlives, I believe that not only do the American people have a right to know who their President is but probably also the rest of the world. Would America want some unknown person gaining control of the nuclear arsenals of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and other nuclear power possessing nations? I believe that the "law of nations" would demand that any nation which will give such power to one individual should at least know the most basic information about that person(like where he was born and what are his or her past accomplishments), even though such information is no guarantee on how that individual will act once he or she gains power. Surely, under these circumstances, a person's individual right to privacy, whether grounded in State or Federal law, must give way to the AMERICAN PUBLIC'S (and that of the international community's) much weightier right to know who such a person is, for not only is America's survival at stake but also that of the World.
The public officials who have so far managed to keep Obama's personal information secret need to really understand the consequences of their actions. This is not some little "frivolous" political game (sour grapes, etc.) that concerned Americans are playing in wanting to know who Obama is. Other than President Chester A. Arthur, I do not know when in American history such an ongoing debate about where the President was born came up. Which leads me to the next question as to why then all the alleged "sour grapes" in this Election? Some people argue that today's birth place issue exists simply because Obama is the first African American who stands to become President and that the losers just cannot get over having to have a "Black" President. First, McCain is "White" and the birth place issue was raised by his political opponents without much public fanfare. Also, President Arthur was "White" and the issue was also hotly contested when he ran for Vice President. Additionally, I do not believe that so many truly concerned Americans would be giving this issue so much importance simply because Obama is "Black."
Let our Nation come together on this most important national security issue and put it to rest with WE THE PEOPLE having obtained the collective knowledge of who their next President is.
Mario Apuzzo, Esq.
Jamesburg, New Jersey
Mr. Apuzzo,
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your articles. Keep up the great work.
-Phil
HOW THE PUBLIC CAN GAIN ACCESS TO OBAMA’S ORIGINAL BIRTH RECORDS
ReplyDelete“I have said this before and I will say it again. There is a Constitutional requirement that a would-be President must be a "natural born Citizen." Someone running for President knows that this requirement exists and knows that he/she must satisfy this Constitutional requirement. This is a CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT. An individual running for President therefore knows two things: he/she wants to hold a public position and he/she must prove that he/she is a "natural born Citizen." I cannot imagine under any circumstance how that same individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his/her birth certificate and/or adoption records (if they exist) if those same documents must be relied upon to adequately prove that he/she meets the Constitutional requirements for the Office of President. No state law or even Federal law on privacy can trump the American public's need to know whether a Presidential candidate is a "natural born Citizen," a need that has its origins in the Constitution itself. Given this Constitutional requirement, a court could order that the private documents be released under seal and in camera (to the judge's chambers) for inspection by the court and the attorneys only, with an order that neither the court nor attorneys can reveal what the documents say without further order of the court. Once the documents are inspected and the relevant information is learned, the court could issue an appropriate order and the case would then proceed to its conclusion.
Mario Apuzzo, Esq.
December 29, 2008