Would Superman Pass the Birther Test

If you had the ability to shoot plasma from your hands, would you need a concealed weapons permit? It's a silly question, we know. Of course you would—and the state would be obligated to grant you one, provided you had no serious criminal history and the plasma-blasting was something you could control.

At least, that's the legal conclusion drawn by James Daily of Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and Ryan Davidson, an insurance lawyer from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Daily and Davidson are the founders of Law and the Multiverse, lawandthemultiverse.com/ the first blawg to seriously consider such questions as: Would mutants be protected by the Americans for Disabilities Act? Law and the Multiverse is where DC Comics meets D.C. v. Heller, and habeas corpus meets levicorpus.

Mother Jones spoke with the dynamic duo recently about the Affordable Care Act, Citizens United, and the zombie apocalypse.

Mother Jones: Superman became president at one point, and his immigration status was an issue. The Supreme Court decided that he was an American citizen. Did you agree with that decision?

MJ: The government relies on Batman a ton for law enforcement, but at the same time, he's running this giant multi-national, Halliburton-type company. Does that raise any conflict of interest issues?

MJ: Superheroes age at a much slower rate than the rest of the population. Should they be eligible for Social Security at the same age as everyone else? Would it be constitutional for the state to step in and say, "it sets in for these folks at 185."

Martin asks “if Superman crushes carbon and makes diamonds, is that taxable income? I would think if he made it into a ring and gave it to Lois the government might want a percentage.”

There are two questions here. First, are the diamonds taxable income for Superman (or Clark Kent) and second, are they taxable income for a recipient such as Lois Lane?

SS109 wrote: Back to fun: Would a flying Superman need to file a flight plan? Maintain a certain altitude and speed? Maintain radio contact with air traffic? Have a number painted on his cloak?