Dual Citizenship

My understanding of dual citizenship did not develop until I became involved in the genealogy of my family. Prior to that time I thought only wealth people and artists obtained dual citizenship to live abroad. When I was born, my mother was a U.S. citizen, but my father was not, although he did become one in 1939 some ten years after my birth in 1929. Around early 1998 I learned about a possible condition of one's birth called "jure sanguinis," that is connected by blood, or the "the law of the blood." In other words, because my father was still an Italian citizen when I was born, so was I. Actually my sister Louise too, who also was born before my father became a citizen. February 16, 1998, I wrote the Italian Consulate General with questions about legally solidifying my Italian citizenship. There were a bunch of exhibits and documents I needed, but at the end I was declared an Italian Citizen, which incidentley because of "jure sanguinis" also applies to my children if they were ever so inclined. I was issued an Italian passport as an Italian citizen March 2, 1999. Before making the final step and in asking many questions, it resulted in me gaining a new friendship with Vincenzo Arcobelli. Italians in the United States are formualized into an organization called the "Committee for Italians Abroad," and Vincenzo was the president of the USA committee. It turned out that Vincenzo lived in Flower Mound, Texas where my son Michael lives. So, one time in July 2007, when I was in Texas, Vincenzo came to Michael's home and we all had a pleasant visit shared with a few glasses of wine. Meeting Vincenzo, a fine person, gave me additional pride in gaining Italian citizenship. Important to this essay is my reasoning why I legally accepted Italian citizenship. My parents grew up in Dugenta, a very small town in Italy with a polulation during their youth of about 2,000 people. In the early 1900's many of my mother and father's immediate and extended family came to America and settled in Schenectady, New York. And as you can imagine, the new immigrants were close knit, and visiting often with each other. I would say that the Dugenta immigrants in Schenectady probably all lived within 10 city blocks of each other. And almost all my mother and father's family in Schenectady lived no more than 5 city blocks of each other. Family visiting was easy, we walked! Each visit with family always included new information about what was happening back in Dugenta. As a child, like most young children, I was always eager to listen to family stories. Because the Dugenta immigrants in my family's sphere were all more recent arrivals to America there were exciting stories about each journey to America. In great measure, I lived Dugenta growing up. Then in October 1991, my wife Shirley and I visited Dugenta. We walked the streets, slept in my Grandmother's bed, visited the cemetery, shopped, and all the other things a tourist might do. When learning about my opportunity to become an Italian citizen in 1998, I know I had to become a citizen as an honor to my mother and father. It was my way of validating the culture they brought to Schenectady from Dugenta and passed on to me. It was in my blood! You might ask, "But where is your allegiance?" The United States of America, of course. However, I would ask you to ponder this point. My mother was Carmella Malgieri who became Carmella Gallo when she married my father. As their child, am I to write off the Malgieri side of the family? No longer honor them? One thing that the feminist movement caused that I like is women using their maiden name as a middle name. My wife was born Shirley Claire Heine, but married she went by the name Shirley Heine Gallo. Nice honor and one I respected. Consequence For a number of years, I have been involved as a constitutional activist, most recently as the founder of the Conservative Party USA, January 2009. In defining requirements of candidates to public office, the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. citizenship of candidates except in the matter of President and Vice President the level of citizenship must be "natural born," that is under the Law of Nations, both parents must be U.S. citizens at the time of the candidate's birth. I would not qualify as my father was not a U.S. citizen when I was born. The Founding Fathers of our country designed this higher level of citizenship for the office of president and vice president because they understood that it would take time for immigrant families to assimulate fully into the American Way. In 2015 as I write these words, "natural born citizen" has lost its meaning. Yet, I as outlined in my essay above, I know I am in complete understanding of the reasoning of our Founding Fathers in this matter. And to lose the meaning of "Naural born citizen" is not only unforunate but unconstitutional in my opinion.