Bastard Nation Action Alert: Write Washington Governor Inslee Now! Kill HB1525!

Washington HB1525 passed the Senate and is on its way to the governor’s desk.  If signed, it will promote and continue the state’s sealed records system and deny the right of all Washington adoptees to their original birth certificates.  As other state’s  restore adoptee rights and open our OBCs,  some Washington adoptees will find the right to their OBC subject to the whim of third party approval and comfort and will have no chance of ever getting it.   Don’t let this happen! Write directly to Governor Jay Inslee and tell him why HB1525 is bad for adoptees, their families and the State of Washington.  Contact information for him is here.  (a template for email)  There is also information for phone and fax contact at that link. Phone:  360-902-4111 TTY/TDD users should contact the Washington Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-833-6388. Fax:   360-753-4110 Email a copy of your note to  Insle’s senior polilcy adviser Andi Smith at [email protected] We have only a couple days to get this message to the Governor’s Office. Below is a copy of Bastard Nation’s letter to Governor  Inslee sent on April 17.  Send us a copy of your letter  to comments below, and  we’ll  post it here. Kill HB1525! Continue Reading →

Bastard Nation Action Alert: Write to Oppose HB 1525 and SB 5118 Today!

BASTARD NATION ACTION ALERT STOP WASHINGTON HB1525 AND SB5118  SAY NO TO CONTINUED AND EXPANDED DISCLOSURE VETOESDISTRIBUTE FREELY! The State of Washington currently has two bills running, one in the House and the other the Senate, promoted by politicians as OBC access bills. They are not! It is true that both bills, “open” OBC  access  to the majority of  pre-1994 adoptees, who are currently barred, except by court order from access.    Importantly, however   the bills  continue to maintain the current sealed records system  (1) with an expanded Affidavit of Disclosure procedure (Disclosure Veto)  and (2) a misnamed  “contact preference form” which acts as a DV on top of the Affidavits that covers all adoptees, no matter when they were born or adopted.  Both authorize third parties to bar the state from releasing  the birth certificate of adoptees to whom they pertain.  Only four (4) Affidavits of Disclosure have been filed  in Washington since 1993, and those were filed in June 2012 in what appears to be an attempt by opponents to derail enactment of a similar bill last session. Legislators prefer to hold the  rights of thousands of the state’s adoptees hostage to “protect” the vague  “interests”  and comfort zone of  four anonymous persons. Washington legislators have made it clear that Continue Reading →

Washington Battleground: The Annual Murder of Adoptee Rights Continues

I For more than 20 years the State of Washington has been a battle ground for adoptee rights. Some years good bills go bad or bad bills go good; (for awhile); other years bad bills go badder. Even baddest bills are kneecapped by adopteephobic legislators and bureaucrats quivering at the softest echos of baby steps toddling down the halls of government. This year has been no different.  Two near-companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate.  The Senate bill (SB5118) was originally restrictive,  re-written clean, then re-written back restricted.  The House bill, (HB 1525),  remained restrictive throughout its campaign.  On.Monday, the Senate Judiciary voted out the House bill.  The whole process has become quite confusing, but as of today (April 3, the language of both bills is being matched Whichever bill eventually is enacted (if) Washington bastards will be saddled with more restrictions on  their OBCs.  Promoters, of course  will circle jerk themselves as “progressive” politicians  and “activists”  for allegedly “balancing the interests” of adoptees and birthparents and extending privilege to a few lucky ducks.while the state continues its headlock on OBCs. Unlike some states where the hammer is pounded by conservative anti-abortion groups and the Catholic Bishops, opposition to OBC access in Washington centers around Continue Reading →

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

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

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

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 →