Cite as: 523 U. S. 420 (1998)
Breyer, J., dissenting
zenship, as this Court has said, is "a most precious right." Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U. S. 144, 159 (1963); see also Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U. S. 490, 507 (1981) (citizenship is a "priceless treasure" (internal quotation marks omitted)); Luria v. United States, 231 U. S. 9, 22 (1913) ("Citizenship is membership in a political society"); Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U. S. 253, 268 (1967) ("[This Nation's] citizenry is the country and the country is its citizenry").
Further, the tie of parent to child is a special one, which in other circumstances by itself has warranted special constitutional protection. See, e. g., Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U. S. 205 (1972); Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U. S. 510 (1925); Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U. S. 390 (1923); see also Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, 316 U. S. 535 (1942).
Moreover, American statutory law has consistently recognized the rights of American parents to transmit their citizenship to their children. See Act of Mar. 26, 1790, § 1, 1 Stat. 103; Act of Jan. 29, 1795, § 3, 1 Stat. 415; Act of Apr. 14, 1802, § 4, 2 Stat. 155; Act of Feb. 10, 1855, § 1, 10 Stat. 604; Rev. Stat. § 1993; Act of Mar. 2, 1907, § 6, 34 Stat. 1229; Act of May 24, 1934, § 1, 48 Stat. 797; Nationality Act of 1940, § 201(g), 54 Stat. 1139; Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, §§ 301(a)(7), (b), 66 Stat. 235, 236, as amended, 8 U. S. C. § 1401; cf., e. g., 1 Oppenheim's International Law § 384 (R. Jennings & A. Watts 9th ed. 1992) (noting that in many States, children born abroad of nationals become nationals); 43 A. Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law 389 (1953) (Roman citizenship was acquired principally by parentage); Sandifer, A Comparative Study of Laws Relating to Nationality at Birth and to Loss of Nationality, 29 Am. J. Int'l L. 248, 248-261, 278 (1935) (discussing citizenship laws throughout the world and noting the "widespread extent of the rule of jus sanguinis"); E. de Vattel, The Law of Nations 101-102 (J. Chitty transl. 1883) (1758).
Finally, the classification at issue is gender based, and we have held that, under the equal protection principle, such
477
Page: Index Previous 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007