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Our Constitution has stood the test of time. It has served our country well, guiding it through times of war, peace, prosperity and depression. As a conservative I do not want it changed without good reason. One worthy reason is protecting marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, a definition in consonance with Christian tradition that has proven itself sufficient for centuries.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has proposed to amend the Constitution to allow naturalized Americans to become president. If his amendment were adopted any person who had been a United States citizen for at least twenty years would be eligible to hold the presidency. This is not a new idea. However, Senator Hatch's proposed amendment places emphasis on contemporary political leaders who otherwise never would be eligible to become president.

Perhaps no better person could refute the proposed Hatch Amendment than the late Balint Vazsyoni, Director of the Center for the American Founding. I had the honor of knowing this gentleman, a concert pianist who came to our country from his native Hungary while it was under Communist rule. More than most, Vazsyoni appreciated the wisdom that was displayed by the Founding Fathers in framing the Constitution and our country's unique heritage of offering freedom and liberty to all people. Vazsyoni witnessed for himself and knew of the damage done to countries whose guiding principles were set -- often arbitrarily -- by despotism and the ideologies of fascism and Communism.

A hearing by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution was held on July 24, 2000 to review amending the Constitution to allow foreign-born citizens to become President. Vazsyoni both testified in person before the subcommittee and submitted prepared remarks.

Vasyoni noted that the Founding Fathers created three branches of government and placed no stricture requiring citizenship to become a member of the legislative or judicial branch. However, power is centralized in one person in the executive branch. Vazsyoni insisted that he did not view it to be an "excessive requirement" to have a native-born American to hold that one office. America presents immigrants with a great deal of leadership opportunities.

In his prepared remarks, Vazsyoni stated: "It is well known that the Founding Fathers were mindful in the extreme of foreign influences, and the dangers therein to the Republic. While experience has shown that a native-born Chief Executive is not necessarily immune to foreign influence, the odds are certainly more favorable if the president [sic] is an American plain and simple, who has never been, and is not at the time of taking office, anything else."

The proposed Hatch Amendment comes at a time when there is a great deal of speculation about the political future of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. No doubt some Americans consider him to be an "exceptional" leader given his dramatic rise in politics. He would not be permitted to hold the presidency -- assuming the Hatch Amendment were not ratified -- but certainly would be eligible to be a United States Senator. However, many people would cite him as a case that demonstrates the unfairness of the constitutional restriction.

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