That is not to say that republicans denigrate
the legal aspect of citizenship. On
the contrary, the citizen of a community
governed by the rule of law must be someone
who holds the legal rights and duties of
membership. To say that Joan Smith or Juan
Sosa is a citizen of a republic is to say that
Smith or Sosa not only enjoys the protection
of its laws but is also subject to them. It is
also to say that, as a citizen, Smith or Sosa
is supposed to be on an equal footing with
other citizens. If Smith or Sosa is not treated
equally under the law, then she or he may
rightly complain of being a ‘second-class
citizen’. In these respects, legal status is as
necessary to the republican conception of
citizenship as to any other.