PHOENIX, Arizona (PNN) - April 13, 2011 - Legislation that requires presidential candidates to prove they are natural-born Amerikan citizens before their names can appear on the Arizona ballot was approved by the state Senate on Wednesday.
The bill, H.B. 2177, requires each presidential candidate to submit a certified copy of his/her birth certificate that includes date and place of birth, names of mother and father, and the name of the hospital where he/she was born.
The Arizona Senate passed the bill in a party-line vote of 20 to 9, with Republicans backing the bill. It now heads to the state's House of Representatives for approval.
The bill was sponsored by State Rep. Carl Seel, who recently met with billionaire real estate mogul and potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to discuss the legislation.
Trump first revealed he had some doubts that Obama was a U.S. citizen during an interview with ABC News’ Ashleigh Banfield in March.
Later appearing on Fox News, he claimed that the illegitimate president has not provided his birth certificate and suggested that Obama has "spent millions" trying to avoid the question.
Many people, such as American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes, believe there is persuasive evidence that Obama was born in Kenya in 1961 and that his birth certificate was faked in order to make him eligible for the presidency.
A lawsuit by Keyes that claimed Obama is not eligible to occupy the White House because he is not a natural born citizen was thrown out by the Third District Court of Appeals in October. Last year, a district court judge dismissed a similar lawsuit filed by Orly Taitz, who was fined $20,000 for "wasting judicial resources" with her "frivolous" lawsuits.
Despite eyewitness evidence to the contrary, the illegitimate president continues to claim he was born in Hawaii. In June 2008, he released something he says is his certificate of live birth, though that document was determined to be false.
In 1961, Hawaii state law allowed for foreign citizens to register the birth of their children in Hawaii, even though the child was not born in Hawaii.