View Full Version : Female president constitutional?
speakez66
Sep 20, 2007, 12:13 PM
Article II
Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected,.
Our forefathers wrote about holding senate office as the person or persons.
Article II clearly states gender. There is only one meaning for he and his.
Hillary Clinton as president is unconstitutional at present without amendment.
Is there any legal case here?
LII: Constitution (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html#articleii)
ebaines
Sep 20, 2007, 12:29 PM
I think it's pretty clear that terms like "he" and "his" are gender neutral - the use of male pronouns encompasses the female. Otherwise we couldn't have female representatives in the House, senators in the Senate, or VP. And females couldn't be extradited from one state to another if they commit a crime. Consider the following passages of the Constituton:
Article 1, section 2, "The Legislative branch": No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Article 1, Section 3, "The Senate":
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
Article 4, The States:
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
Wondergirl
Sep 20, 2007, 12:45 PM
English evolved in a male-centered, patriarchal society. Therefore, "he" is used to refer not only to men, but also to women.
Choux
Sep 20, 2007, 07:08 PM
We already had a President who was *NOT A MAN*...
He's sitting in the White House right now with his head up his butt. :)
ScottGem
Sep 20, 2007, 07:12 PM
Oh geez that's stretching it. Women couldn't vote when the Constitution was written either. I can't imagine any court finding a women president unconstitutional.
Fr_Chuck
Sep 20, 2007, 07:16 PM
If it is, I am sure John Edwards or Obama will make sure to bring it up over the next year
iamgrowler
Sep 21, 2007, 07:00 AM
Yikes!!
Are we really that desperate this early in the game?
JohnSnownw
Sep 21, 2007, 11:57 PM
No one would actually try to enforce that idea, even if it were a possibility, lest they incur the wrath of approx. 50% of the potential voting public. Obviously, not the only reason.
rpg219
Sep 22, 2007, 12:03 AM
OK, well then what about pediatricians' literature that states "he" (as in a baby) should have this shot at this time... because you have a girl that means she doesn't have to have it as well? "He", when talking people in general, would mean any person... not just a man or boy
s_cianci
Sep 30, 2007, 02:47 PM
The standard rules of English at the time of the writing of the U.S. Constitution was to use the masculine form for gender-neutral pronouns. Unlike certain other languages, such as German for example, English lacks a gender-neutral pronoun form. So you'll never make a legal argument that a woman can't be president. The constitution specifies age, citizenship and residency requirements but nothing concerning gender.