Rogue

Arizona Passes Controversial Birther Bill

Court could require Obama to provide more proof of citizenship.

Arizona's politicians apparently don't mind looking like the bad guys: The state's legislature passed a controversial "birther" bill that would require candidates to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship to run for office—and could require a court to determine whether President Obama is eligible to run for re-election. Obama has provided a birth certificate and his citizenship has been certified by Hawaiian officials, but "birthers" have demanded additional proof. The Republican state senator who authored the bill said Obama's certification wouldn't be sufficient under the law, and the president would have to provide additional records such as hospital records and baptismal certificates. Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the legislature's infamous immigration law last year, sidestepped questions about whether she would sign it. "That bill is an interesting piece of legislation," Brewer said. "I certainly have not given it a whole lot of thought with everything that's been on my plate."