For a guy who says he's an unequivocal backer of equal protection of the laws, you'd think Rand Paul might be a bit more, let's say, careful in avoiding another big fight on civil rights issues. The 14th Amendment is the Holy Grail of the U.S. civil rights regime, and within a week of suggesting that federal law overreaches when regulating private business decisions and freedom of association, here he comes again with more. See CNN, "TRENDING: Paul: No citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants."
Allahpundit has an interesting post on this, and he points us to a George Will essay from March, "A Birthright? Maybe Not." It turns out that the authors of the 14th Amendment never intended U.S. born children of foreign parents to gain citizenship. The logic is impeccable, but as with the public accomodations debate we just had, I'm betting this is another argument conservatives won't win (for the moment, at least ... check back with me after we get "comprehensive" immigration reform).
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