Just wandering through Wikipedia today and I came across a reference to Trop V. Dulles in which the US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in 1958, ruled that the divestment of US citizenship constituted cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore unconstitutional.
Very interesting.
During all that discussion of WW2 war criminals seeking to live out a peaceful retirement in Canada (and after reading the book “Crimes of War” by Peter Hogg) I was arguing that we do just that. Removing the right to identify as a citizen of Canada seemed the only thing that was appropriate for a bunch of old, decrepit, feeble-minded men who gained citizenship under false pretenses (okay, I’m hoping that’s how they got in, but I don’t know for sure). What about those born here? Okay, I don’t have an easy answer. If there’s nowhere to deport someone to, then I guess it’s a problem we own.
I don’t believe in the death penalty. There may be people who deserve to die for what they have done, and maybe some were among this group of men who immigrated to Canada to live the easy life after participating in the genocides of WW2. My point is that it is not for me to make this, very final, decision.
However, I am a Canadian citizen, and I feel like I own at least a part of what that defines. I hope, in fact I know, to many in the world, Canadian citizenship means trust and kindness and fair-mindedness and, perhaps most importantly, respect. Which is why divestment of citizenship should never be for political or sociological views, no matter how distasteful, but it should be reserved for those who perpetrate a crime against humanity.
Interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, the dissenting opinion noted: "Is constitutional dialectic so empty of reason that it can be seriously urged that loss of citizenship is a fate worse than death?"
The answer? Maybe not, but it’s the only thing we are able to do without perpetrating a crime ourselves.
Very interesting.
During all that discussion of WW2 war criminals seeking to live out a peaceful retirement in Canada (and after reading the book “Crimes of War” by Peter Hogg) I was arguing that we do just that. Removing the right to identify as a citizen of Canada seemed the only thing that was appropriate for a bunch of old, decrepit, feeble-minded men who gained citizenship under false pretenses (okay, I’m hoping that’s how they got in, but I don’t know for sure). What about those born here? Okay, I don’t have an easy answer. If there’s nowhere to deport someone to, then I guess it’s a problem we own.
I don’t believe in the death penalty. There may be people who deserve to die for what they have done, and maybe some were among this group of men who immigrated to Canada to live the easy life after participating in the genocides of WW2. My point is that it is not for me to make this, very final, decision.
However, I am a Canadian citizen, and I feel like I own at least a part of what that defines. I hope, in fact I know, to many in the world, Canadian citizenship means trust and kindness and fair-mindedness and, perhaps most importantly, respect. Which is why divestment of citizenship should never be for political or sociological views, no matter how distasteful, but it should be reserved for those who perpetrate a crime against humanity.
Interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, the dissenting opinion noted: "Is constitutional dialectic so empty of reason that it can be seriously urged that loss of citizenship is a fate worse than death?"
The answer? Maybe not, but it’s the only thing we are able to do without perpetrating a crime ourselves.
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