Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate

LANSING (WWJ/CBS) - A state lawmaker wants to force future presidential candidates to present original birth certificates or certified copies to appear on the state's ballot.

Republican Mike Callton said his measure, known as a "birther bill," is not just about President Obama, noting that other officials have had their citizenship questioned.

Although a similar bill has been introduced in about a dozen other states, Callton, of Nashville, Michigan, told WWJ Newsradio 950 his bill is a little different from the other states.

"What makes this bill a bit different, is that it's very clean. All we're asking, is that if you're running to be the President of the United States, that you show a birth certificate or a certified copy of an original birth certificate," Callton said.

Meantime, in an effort to finally put to rest questions about where he was born, the White House on Wednesday released President Obama's long-form birth certificate.

In 2008, Obama released his "certificate of birth" - a short-form birth certificate provided to all Hawaiians as proof of birth in state - but that failed to quell rumors that the president was born outside of the U.S.

Those rumors were brought back into the forefront of discussion in recent weeks thanks to questions from Donald Trump, a potential 2012 Republican presidential contender, who has said he is unconvinced of the president's origins.

The White House said it took the effort to release President Obama's long-form birth certificate so that the nation can move on from this "fake issue." Read more at CBSNews.com.