By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

Is President Barack Obama’s citizenship still in question?

State Rep. Ed Emery, a Lamar Republican who plans to run for the state Senate, thinks so, and says for that reason that he this week attended an event on behalf of his constituents.

His attendance Wednesday at an event at which Orly Taitz, a California dentist and lawyer, continued to challenge Obama’s citizenship has Emery at opposites with House Speaker Ron Richard, a Joplin Republican, on the matter.

“I don’t think it’s an issue,” said Richard, who is known for blunt reactions. “I’m not concerned about that. We have no jurisdiction to look at something like that, and I wasn’t consulted about this meeting.’’

Even though concerns over Obama’s citizenship have been widely debunked by state officials in Hawaii, and even though the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to even give the notion a thought, Emery says he remains unconvinced.

Emery said he was at the event Wednesday at a Jefferson City hotel to listen to Taitz’s arguments and hear her evidence. He was the only recognized legislator at that meeting.

Later that day, Taitz spoke at St. Louis. In attendance there were state Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O’Fallon, and a representative of state Rep. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay. They, too, said they attended to hear Taitz’s position.

Taitz alleged that Obama was born in Kenya, the home country of his father; that Obama has failed to produce a true copy of his Hawaii birth certificate; the birth documentation he has produced may be a forgery; that the president has falsified his Selective Service papers and his application to the Illinois bar; and that the president may have as many as 25 Social Security numbers.

Taitz maintains that without an acceptable version of his birth certificate, it’s impossible to know if Obama was born in Hawaii and, thus, whether he qualifies as a “natural-born citizen’’ as required by the Constitution.

In response to reporter inquiries about his attendance at the meeting, Emery released an official statement on Friday.

Emery said he attended the meeting “because lots of claims have been made and he has never seen any responses to them that settle the issue. The courts have chosen not to accept this on review.’’

As an elected representative, Emery said he took an oath “to defend the Constitution. I felt like this was important and that serious questions have been raised. I attended the event out of an interest and obligation to my constituents and the Constitution, and it was my duty as a state representative.’’

He said he did look at Taitz’s documentation, but “she had a lot of documents there and has done a lot of traveling and spent a lot of money on the legitimacy of his citizenship and how well they have satisfied the constitutional obligations.”