The oath to the Queen: We swear, it’s fair http://t.co/NnlA77bXp7 – What does Oath of Allegiance really mean? In USA its expatriating Act.
— Citizenship Lawyer (@ExpatriationLaw) April 10, 2014
The above tweet references an interesting article about the relationship between the oath of allegiance to the Queen and Canadian citizenship. It raises the questions of:
1. Does an oath of allegiance matter at all?
2. If so, to whom or what should the oath of allegiance be?
Interestingly, under S. 349 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, an Oath of Allegiance to a non-U.S. sovereign is an expatriating act.
The article includes:
Three Canadian residents who are not yet citizens are suing to remove
the oath to the Queen as a condition of becoming citizens. They say
that forcing them to swear allegiance to the Crown infringes on their
freedom of thought and speech. Their reasoning doesn’t add up.
The
current citizenship oath is remarkably unburdensome. Apart from
allegiance to the Queen, it requires only that new citizens promise to
be law-abiding and to fulfill the duties of citizenship, which aren’t
even specified.
Compare the American equivalent, which demands the renunciation of
any previous allegiance to another country, the defence of the
Constitution and laws of the U.S., and the bearing of arms on the
country’s behalf. It even ends with “so help me God.”
English: Taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States – Hawaiian Police Force Being Sworn In After Annexation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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