Afroyim v. Rusk is a 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled that American citizens may not be deprived of citizenship involuntarily. The U.S. government tried to revoke the citizenship of Beys Afroyim (pictured with his son), who had voted in an Israeli election after becoming a naturalized American citizen, but the court decided that his right to retain his citizenship was guaranteed by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It overruled Perez v. Brownell (1958), in which it had upheld loss of citizenship under similar circumstances. Afroyim opened the way for a wider acceptance of multiple citizenship in American law. Its impact was narrowed by Rogers v. Bellei (1971), which held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply in all cases, but the specific law in that case was repealed in 1978. The Bancroft Treaties—a series of agreements between the United States and other nations which sought to limit dual citizenship—were abandoned after the Carter administration concluded that they had been rendered unenforceable. As a consequence of revised government policies adopted in 1990, it is now "virtually impossible" to lose American citizenship involuntarily.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1846:

Polish insurgents led an uprising in the Free City of Kraków to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w_Uprising

1864:

American Civil War: The Union suffered one of its bloodiest losses at the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, Florida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Olustee

1965:

NASA's Ranger 8 spacecraft (Ranger Block III pictured) successfully transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing into Mare Tranquillitatis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8

1998:

At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became the youngest gold medal winner in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Lipinski

2009:

The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft packed with C-4 in suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot down before they reached their targets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_suicide_air_raid_on_Colombo

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

take a flyer: (idiomatic) To make a choice with an uncertain outcome; to take a chance. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_a_flyer

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

 Robert Neville looked out over the new people of the earth. He knew he did not belong to them; he knew that, like the vampires, he was anathema and black terror to be destroyed. And, abruptly, the concept came, amusing to him even in his pain. ... Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend.   --Richard Matheson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson