Neal A. Puckett, Esq. and Haytham Faraj, Esq.
Puckett and Faraj Military Lawyers
1800 Diagonal Road, STE 210
Alexandria, VA 22314
Dear Counselors:
Thanks so very much for your efforts on behalf of Lt. Col. Lakin.
Some key points I wished to be able to share with you, points (highlighted below) that did not appear to be well understood by the Colonel’s previous counsel:
· Being a “native born citizen” is not the same as “natural born citizen.”
· Many people do not understand that there is a difference between a "native born citizen" and a "natural born citizen". Constitutional experts say that a "natural born citizen" is one who was born in the U.S. to parents both of whom were American citizens. A person is a "native born citizen" if that person was born in the U.S. or if his parents were abroad in the service of the country when he was born.
· All "native born citizens" are not "natural born citizens". According to respected Constitutional scholars, those who held “dual citizenship” at birth do not qualify as "natural born citizens" because both parents were not American citizens. For further information on the meaning given to the phrase “natural born citizen” by the Founders in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution, see http://eligibilityquestions.com . A number of prospective Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates are not “natural born citizens” under the Founders’ definition of the “natural born citizen.” This would include Governor Jindal, neither of whose parents were naturalized American citizens at the time of his birth in the U.S.
· Assuming Barack Obama, Sr. was Mr. Obama’s father, the key question is whether or not Mr. Obama’s apparent “dual citizenship” at birth renders him ineligible for the Presidency.
· In Mr. Obama’s case, even if a long form birth certificate is produced, if it shows that his father was Barack Obama, Sr., then he was a “dual citizen” at birth. If it shows that he was born in the United States, then it means that even though he was a “native born citizen” at birth, he was not a “natural born citizen” since his father was not a U.S. citizen making him a “dual citizen” at birth.
· Even if Mr. Obama was a “native born” citizen at birth but not a “dual citizen” at birth, questions would persist concerning the status of his citizenship from childhood through the present owing to his adoption during his childhood by an Indonesian citizen.
· If he was born in the US and if his father had been an American citizen, then other questions would still remain since he was adopted by his step father when he was a child and lived in Indonesia. The status of his citizenship from his childhood through his adulthood are still in question. If he was a citizen of Indonesia, when did he give up his citizenship? Was it necessary for him to reinstate his American citizenship? Did he do so? If he did give up his Indonesian citizenship and if he was necessary for him to reinstate his American citizenship and if he reinstated his citizenship; he would be eligible to run for the Senate, but if his status changed to that of “naturalized citizen”, there would be a question concerning eligibility to be President.
The following website at http://eligibilityquestions.com addresses many of these questions. There is an “Open Letter to the Media and Public Officials..” there that seeks to clarify some of the many reasons that the media and public officials, including members of the judiciary have done such a poor job in the recent past of addressing these eligibility-related matters.
I hope that this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Paula Gordon
Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D.
6101 16th St. NW, Suite 906
Washington, D.C. 20011-1766
Phone: (202) 241 0631
Websites: