Speech #710319779

Since July 3. 1930. therefore. there is no presumptive loss of citizenship by residence abroad. The amendment to the act of 1922. now before the House. is an important one. In substance it provides: First. a woman who heretofore has lost her citizenship by residence abroad after marriage to an alien or by marriage to an ineligible alien may become naturalized according to the short method provided in section 4 of the Cable Act. as amended July 3. 1930. and by virture of subdivision (b) of such section. as amended. after her naturalization she will have the same citizenship status as if her marriage had taken place after the passage of this bill. Second. A woman citizen who hereafter marries an alien ineligible to citizenship shall not lose her citizenship by reason of such marriage. Third. A woman who was a citizen of the United States at birth shall not be denied naturalization under section 4 of the Cable Act. as amended. by reason of her race. Fourth. The quick method of naturalization given to certain classes of women by the Cable Act. as amended. is denied to women whose citizenship originated solely by reason of marriage to a citizen of the United States or by her alien husbands naturalization. Fifth. This amendment also repeals the provision of the Cable Act denying naturalization to a woman married to an alien ineligible to citizenship. With this amendment a law we shall have removed the. last discrimination between the American man and the American woman in the law on citizenship. Let me explain this to you: Under the 1907 act. which was repealed by the act of September 22. 1922. if an American woman married an alien and she happened to be a lawyer. for example in New York State. she would lose her right to practice law. There was a case of that kind where a college graduate. a nativeborn American woman. married a Hollander in New York. and under the laws of New York she had no rightbecause she became an alien by that marriageto continue to practice law. The laws of New York prohibit an alien from practicing law. Congress has said to the women of this country. "That shall no longer be the case." This amendment. was reported out by the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. It was added by the Senate Immigration Committee to our bill eliminating the posting of notices. it has gone to conference. the conference report passed the Senate this morning and it is now up to the Members of this House to declare whether or not we believe in complete equality of citizenship rights as between American men and women. If this bill and this amendment pass. it will be a declaration of the Members of this Congress that the American citizenship of a woman is as sacred as a mans. We should bear in mind that we can not have one law for the man and another for the woman. without declaring that the citizenship of the woman is inferior to that of the man.