Washington: Bastard Nation Testimony on SB5118, House Judiciary, March 26, 2013–Oppose

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Below is Bastard Nation’s testimony in opposition to SB5118 submitted to the House Judiciary Committee for the March 26, hearing.  It it somewhat different from last week’s  SB 1525. Both bills are bad, each in their own way! SB 5118 TestimonyAdoptee access to their own original birth certificates Washington State House of RepresentativesJudiciary Committee March 26 2013 OPPOSE Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization is the largest adoptee civil rights organization in the United States. We support only full unrestricted access for all adopted persons, to their original birth certificates (OBC). We do not support any restrictions such as the Affidavit of Non-Disclosure, Disclosure Vetoes (DV), Contact Vetoes (CV), white-outs, or any other form of restricted access to a true copy of the original birth certificate. SB 5118 does not support the civil and human right of adult citizens who were adopted to unconditional and unrestricted access to their original birth certificate. The Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee did at one point propose a substitute bill* that citizens throughout Washington State, this entire nation and Bastard Nation would have, and did support. That substitute version has since been amended and the bill now continues the State of Washington’s discriminatory Continue Reading →

Lil’ Lori Asskicker: Watch Lori Jeske’s Testimony Against Washington HB 1525

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Bastard Nation Executive Committee member and Treasurer, Lori Jeske, spoke  before the  Washington State Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee on March 21  to oppose HB1525 which if passed, will continue to gut the rights of adoptees in that state. The bill not only retains the Affidavit of Disclosure Veto (and has only been used four times in 20 years), but a bogus “contact preference form” which acts as a DV to bar release of the OBC.  Not only do some Washington leggies fear bastards, but they lack an elementary understanding of the English language. Preference: noun1.  a greater liking for one alternative over another or others:          —a preference for long walks and tennis over jogging          —he chose a clock in preference to a watch      a thing preferred:          —my musical preferences are blues and swing        a favor shown to one person or thing over another or others:           —preference is given to those who make a donation Maybe we should take up a collection for a dictionary. Here is Lori in action! Bastard Nation’s written testimony is just below this entry.

Washington: Bastard Nation Testimony HB1525, March 21, 2013–Oppose

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HB 1525   TESTIMONY Adoptee access to their own original birth certificates Washington Senate Human Services  and Corrections Committee March 21, 2013 | Presented by Lori Jeske OPPOSEPrivilege is the opposite of rights Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization is the largest adoptee civil rights organization in the United States. We support only full, unrestricted access for all adopted persons, to their original birth certificates.  (OBC). We do not support any restrictions such as the Affidavit of Disclosure, Disclosure Vetoes (DV), Contact Vetoes (CV), white-outs, or any other restricted access to a true copy of the original birth certificate. HB 1525 is being purported as a bill that supports “adoptee rights”.  However, the bill continues the State of Washington’s discriminatory sealed birth records system.  While this bill would allow a substantially larger number of adult adopted citizens access to their original birth certificate, the bill continues to prohibit the release of original birth certificates due to the “Affidavit of Non-Disclosure” which serves a privilege for only four (4) citizens at the present time.   Affidavit of Non-Disclosure:  This form is onerous and only serves as a discriminatory privilege.  The Affidavit of Non-Disclosure was implemented into state law back in 1993 and applies Continue Reading →

Ohio: Hell Freezes Over Again. Ohio Catholic Conference Supports OBC Access

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Hell froze over in Ohio last Wednesday for the second time, when The Ohio Catholic Conference endorsed HB61, a bill  to restore the right of unrestricted OBC access to those person adopted in Ohio between January 1, 1964-September 17, 1996.  The access right of those adopted after that date is left high and dry due to the 1996 Disclosure Veto compromise which gives biological parents the special privilege  that no other person has, to bar the state from releasing the OBC.  Ohio Legislative Services  which nitpicks every bill  for legalities that crosses its path in  the Statehouse, won’t let that one go.Yet. Ohio Vital Statistics does not keep track of the number of DVs submitted  but it’s believed to be  a small number, perhaps less than 20.(I”ll be writing more about this later.) You can read Tobin’s testimony here. And,  here’s a picture of the relevant testimony taken by Linda Niehaus, whom I sat with: “…we are pleased to support HB 61.” (Posted with permission of Linda Niehaus)  The hearing started out with a whimper, but ended with a bang (apologies to TS Eliot).  About 45-50 witnesses and supporters from around the state attended.  Due to “floor business” the hearing, scheduled for 3:00 PM didn’t start until nearly 5:00 PM    From past Continue Reading →

Ohio: Hell Freezes Over Again

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Hell froze over again in Ohio yesterday when the Catholic Conference endorsed HB61 which if passed will unseal the OBCs of thousands of Ohio adoptees born between Jan 1, 1964-September 17, 1996. HB61 sailed through the House Judiciary Committee unanimously 12-0 and is now on it’s way to the House Floor. I have to go to work and can’t write anymore at the moment.  More later.

Ohio: Hell Freezes Over. Ohio Right to Life Supports OBC Access, March 6, 2013

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Hell froze over last Wednesday (March 6, 2013) when Ohio Right to Life, dropped its decades long opposition to OBC access and testified before the House Judiciary Committee  in support of HB61.  We knew earlier that ORTL had dropped its opposition, but its endorsement and testimony came as a surprise. You can read this historical  testimony on the Bastard Nation webpage.  The testimony begins: Some of you may know that for decades, Ohio Right to opposed opening adoption records to adoptees born/adopted between 1964 and 1996. The concerns of privacy and the repercussions for adoptive families, however, are fading with time as cultural perceptions about adoption have changed. Historically, arguments to keep the records closed were based on the idea that it would protect adoptees from potential embarrassment about the circumstances of their birth, or to protect adoptees from unwanted contact from birth parents. Frankly, these are outdated concerns, but it is this rationale that keeps 1964 – 1996 adoptees from being able to access their original birth certificate. Ohio law keeps these records closed, yet when the laws were revisited in 1996, it was decided that all adoptions finalized after that point are open unless parents choose to close their Continue Reading →

Ohio: HB 61 Sponsor Hearing Report- House Judiciary

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Wednesday (February 20, 2013) I attended the Ohio House Judiciary Committee Sponsor’s Hearing for HB 61, which would restore the right of OBC access to Ohio adoptees  born between January 1, 1964-September 17, 1996.  Those born after that date currently have access at the age of 21 (at 18 their aparents can access), unless a birthparent has filed a  Disclosure Veto with the state. Ohio Vital  Statistics does not know how many DV’s are on file (!), but the number is probably minuscule   Washington State, which has a similar law, reports only four DVs submitted since 1993, and all of them last year. Lawyer dirty tricks?  Senate Bill, 23 is HB61’s companion bill. . Both have bi-partisan support. Ohio Right to Life, opposed for decades  to OBC access for 1964-1996s, due to its belief that access to those old records would compromise “the state’s promise of anonymity” in adoption; thus causing women  to seek abortions now,  has dropped its opposition. ORTL President Mike Gonidakis told the press recently, “Historically, Ohio Right to Life has opposed efforts to disclose identities of birth parents.That position has thawed, for lack of a better term..” Goindakis credits the Internet with some of the change saying that “you can find Continue Reading →

Washington State HB 1525: Demand House to Amend Disclosure Veto

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The Washington State legislature  is currently running two OBC access bills:  HB 1525 and SB5118. (original bill)  These are not Bastard Nation bills. Originally both contained language that maintained current Disclosure Vetoes in place and continue the option for future use.  Last week the Senate amended its bill and removed all DV language current and prospective.  (Sub bill)  The House has not followed suit. Washington State activists have  asked for immediate action from to urge the Washington House to amend its bill bu removing all DV language as well. The House offers a template on the HB 1525 bill page  to send your opinion.  Posts are limited to 1000 characters, so it has to remain short.  Here is what Bastard Nation sent: Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization urges sponsors of HB1525 to amend the bill to align with SB5118: remove current language (and law) that authorizes biological parents via a Disclosure Veto, to bar the state from releasing the OBC to his or her adult offspring.. HB1525 sponsors have it half right. They find something inherently wrong with vetoes, yet feel an obligation to maintain them. This may justify bad past legislation but does no justify denying WA State adoptees the restoration of their right Continue Reading →

Another Dead Russian Adoptee: Maksim Kuzmin/Max Alan Shatto

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Russian media reports that another Russian adoptee has been murdered by his forever family. Best coverage so far comes from RT (Russian Television) and the Siberian Times.  A few minutes ago, The Dallas Observer’s Eric Nicholson picked up the story in his blog.  Although I’m seeing accounts from  the Australian , British, and Israeli press,  US media is so far silent, but I suspect that will change in a few hours. RT reports that on January 21, a Russian adoptee identified as Maksim Kuzmin, 3,  living in Texas, died after a brutal beating at the hands of his adoptive mother. An autopsy showed that he suffered from severe trauma to his head, limbs, abdomen, and internal organs.  The autopsy also indicated that he was full of Risperdal, a  controversial anti psychotic drug approved by the USDA for treatment  for schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder in children over the age of 10,  but it has recently been used in the treatment of autism. The  English-language Siberian Times identifies the boy by his adoptive name Max Alan Shatto.  The article (no byline) says that Maksim was born in the Komi Republic in the far north of Russia, west of the Urals.  Natalya Vishnevskaya, chief doctor at the Pechor Orphanage, identified the boy as coming from her children’s home, but did Continue Reading →

Below and Beyond Offensive: Gotcha Day book review

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Gotcha Day, the perverse label given by clueless adopters to the day they received their Bundle of Joy, is universally considered offensive by all but the most blindly entitled inhabitants of AdoptionLand..  Now there’s a book by the same name:  Gotcha Day: a Celebration of Adoption. Some of us have been posting 1-star ratings of the book on amazon.com.  I just posted mine:  This book is below and beyond offensive.  Gotcha is something you say when you catch a pesky mouse or stomp on a cockroach that been running across your kitchen floor for the past week..  It is not a term that should be used to “celebrate” adoption or the “gotten” adoptee. I understand why people would want to commemorate the day, but Gotcha is obscene. If I could give it less than one star, I would.Full disclosure.  My adoptive parents used to commemorate the day I was placed with them.  It was known as Betsy Day (that’s the name I went by most of my life–nothing wrong with the name, but it’s not me, and I reverted to Marley, derived from my original name, Marlene). Betsy Day was  low key-not  Gotcha!  I cannot imagine either of my parents (or my Mama Dot who Continue Reading →