Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was born August 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone on a U.S. military base to two United States citizens. Because of the location of his birth, McCain’s eligibility for the presidency is now in question.The U.S. Constitution states that “No person except a natural born citizen shall be eligible to the office of President.” While no one is disputing that McCain is a citizen of the United States, the issue of whether he can be considered a “natural born citizen” is being called into question. A natural born citizen “is where only the natural act of one being born in a place determines the status of ones citizenship with no additional stipulations necessary to influence that status.”Although McCain was born on a U.S. military base, it is now being argued that he is not a natural born citizen, but rather, should be considered a “naturalized” citizen. Panama, is not a U.S. territory – it is a sovereign nation.
To date, no law or court ruling has ever actually established the official or precise definition of what is a “natural born citizen”. However, it is typically agreed that a natural born citizen is one who is born in any of the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia.
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Since the qualifications of a president and senator are the same, I think he’s safe.