Natural Born Citizens

World Net Daily is upping the birther ante, now claiming that presidential candidates must have been born to U.S. citizens in order to be eligible. And that lets out two major GOP figures.

Are U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal natural-born citizens of the United States, and thus eligible for the presidency? It's a simple question, but the answer may not be so easy. While the Constitution does not define "natural-born citizen," there is strong evidence that the Founding Fathers understood it to mean someone born of two American citizens. The next national election is less than 18 months away, and both rising Republican stars have been touted as potential contenders for either the No. 1 or No. 2 spot on a presidential ticket. But their eligibility is in doubt since both men's parents were not U.S. citizens at the time their future political children were born, WND can reveal. That factor is important because the Constitution mandates a presidential candidate to be a "natural-born citizen," a requirement that has dogged President Barack Obama since the 2008 campaign.

And what do Jindal and Rubio and Obama all have in common? Bingo.

LOUISIANA: Gov. Bobby Jindal Signs Bill Allowing Guns In Church

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed a bill allowing people to bring firearms into church. Just in case somebody wants to go crazy during Jeebus-time.

[The] bill would authorize persons who qualified to carry concealed weapons having passed the training and background checks to bring them to churches, mosques, synagogues or other houses of worship as part of a security force. The pastor or head of the religious institution must announce verbally or in weekly newsletters or bulletins that there will be individuals armed on the property as members of he security force. Those chosen have to undergo eight hours of tactical training each year. Burns' original bill was killed by a Senate committee but he tacked its provisions onto a related bill that started out changing the period to have a concealed weapon permit from four years to five years at a cost of $25 a year. Burns contended that religious institutions in crime-ridden or "declining neighborhoods" need the added protection to ward off thieves and muggers.

Jindal also signed a bill requiring women to get an ultrasound before an abortion.

Gay Adoption Bill Fails In Louisana

A bill that would have expanded adoption laws to allow joint adoption by unmarried couples was defeated by a 3-1 vote in the Louisiana Senate yesterday. The bill was fiercely opposed by religious groups.

Senate Bill 129, which ended up as a combination of two measures by Sens. Ed Murray and J.P. Morrell, would have allowed unmarried couples to jointly adopt and allow an existing parent to petition a court to add a second adult as a legal parent. The bill would have applied regardless of the adoptive parents' sexual orientation, but the debate centered on the rights of gay parents and their children. Louisiana law restricts adoption to married couples or single individuals, meaning gay couples or unmarried heterosexual couples can adopt but must choose which adult has parental rights. The debate pitted the Forum for Equality, a gay rights advocacy group, the American Civil Liberties Union and other adoptive parents, including New Orleans City Council President Arnie Fielkow, against a long list of primarily religious interests: the Louisiana Family Forum, the Conference of Catholic Bishops and representatives of Louisiana Southern Baptists.

The bill was also opposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.