New Citizens Embrace Rights and Responsibilities

(Doylestown, PA) Applicants from Algeria, France, Thailand and twenty-eight other countries gathered at the estate of William Penn in Morrisville for a naturalization ceremony on Friday, July 27th. Forty- five applicants in total took the oath of citizenship at Pennsbury Manor with the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania presiding. Volunteers from the League of Women Voters of Bucks County were in attendance and assisted many of the new citizens with their first act of citizenship following the ceremony; registering to vote.

Douglas A. Miller, Historic Site Administrator for Pennsbury Manor of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, welcomed the applicants for naturalization and their guests. Miller noted the relevance of hosting the naturalization at the home of William Penn, who established the colony in 1681 and whose legacy includes recruiting people to the colony from outside his native England, thus increasing diversity in Pennsylvania. Inspired by Quaker principles, Penn believed in and wanted his colony to foster social equality. Miller recounted that Penn realized, as his colony grew, that the best way for his colony to reflect his vision of the critical role of consent and participation of the governed was to allow the common man the right to vote. The colony was governed under the Charter of Privileges that Penn drafted in 1701, reflecting the belief that all humans were equal at birth. The Charter functioned as the Pennsylvania’s Constitution until the American Revolution.

Judge Rufe, as well as other invited guests, shared their family’s immigrant stories and warmly welcomed the new citizens. Following the administration of the oath, new citizen Guy DeBruyn, formerly of South Africa, was invited to speak on behalf of the new citizens. DeBruyn recounted how transformational it was to come to the country as a child of twelve, leaving a state-controlled media and system of apartheid behind. Enjoying the experiences of freedom since then, DeBruyn believed the logical progression was to embrace the responsibilities of citizenship and be naturalized.

Although July 30th is the three hundredth anniversary of the passing of William Penn, his ideals were alive and reflected as this diverse group of citizens were welcomed and as so many of them enthusiastically embraced their right to vote by registering following the ceremony. The League of Women Voters of Bucks County encourages all to check the status of their registration at www.VotesPa.com and to visit www.Vote411.org to learn about candidates’ positions on issues prior to voting. The last day to register or change registration prior to the November 6 general election is October 9th.