Originally Posted by
zonatandem
I am a naturalized citizen and do not carry my citizen papers with me.
One official asked for a 'copy' of my citizenship papers. Told him : 'Read the fine print on US citizenship papers: Not to be copied.'
Another time entering Canada was asked 'where are you from.'
Told the guy : 'Arizona'. He then told me: 'You have a ***? All Arizonans carry a ***.' Told him 'No ***, but I carry a big knife.' He waved us through.
Must be a boring job at times!
To the best of my knowledge, we don't have classes of citizenship in this country. By either method, by birth or by naturalization, we're all equal citizens, except, of course, for the constitutional requirements for the presidency. Nobody has ever expected me, a natural born citizen, to carry a birth certificate to prove my claim of citizenship so it seems to me unreasonable to expect a naturalized citizen to carry proof of citizenship. When applying for extra privelges, like a passport or security clearance or whatever, proof of citizenship may be required, but just as a matter of course, I find it insulting.
edited: and I think that equality of citizenship status is a natural result of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment.