McLachlan sponsors birth certificate bill in Hartford

State Senator Michael McLachlan. State Senator Michael McLachlan. Photo: Michael Duffy Photo: Michael Duffy Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close McLachlan sponsors birth certificate bill in Hartford 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

DANBURY -- State Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, submitted a bill proposal mandating U.S. presidential and vice presidential candidates provide their birth certificates for their names to be placed on the ballot.

"You have to have a birth certificate to get a driver's license," McLachlan said. "The same should be true to become president or vice president."

He submitted his proposal Jan. 20 after hearing several arguments about President Barack Obama's citizenship, he said. "They claim that he is not a natural-born citizen."

McLachlan said his bill does not suggest Obama is not a natural-born citizen. Instead, he hopes passage of the bill will stop such arguments in the future.

"Let's stop talking about this," he said.

Although the argument may have started with Obama, state Rep. Dan Carter, R-Bethel, who said he is 100 percent in favor of the proposed bill, thinks citizenship verification is something that needs to be looked into.

"I don't care about the political part of it," Carter said. "There's no mechanism in place."

More Information Proposed Bill No. 391 "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of General Assembly convened: That title 9 of the general statutes be amended to require the Secretary of the State to be presented with an original birth certificate of any candidate for the federal office of president or vice president that certifies that the certificate holder is a natural-born United States citizen, prior to certifying that the candidate is qualified to appear on the ballot."

McLachlan suspected he might receive some negative feedback about the proposal but said he is trying to enforce the U.S. Constitution, which says in Article 2, Section 1, "No Person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president."

State Sen. Andrew Roraback, a Republican whose district includes Brookfield, New Milford and Kent, said a candidate's U.S. birth certificate would satisfy the Constitution's requirement.

"I think it's an elementary proposition," he said.

The proposed bill is under review by the Joint Committee on Government Administration and Elections.

"This proposition deserves a public hearing," Roraback said, and it will take place in the next two months.

Contact Stacy Davis at 203-731-3331 or sdavis@newstimes.com.