ACTION ALERT - PLEASE FORWARD FREELY
MICHIGAN HOUSE BILL 4896
A bill has been introduced into the House of Representatives in Michigan. This bill will allow all adopted adults to request and receive, unconditionally, their original birth certificate. The bill contains a non-binding contact preference form. It is as close to a perfect bill as you'll ever see!Dee Lindeman, Co-Moderator "Michigan Searching,” reports that The Michigan House Committee on Family & Children's Services will be hearing testimony on the bill this Wednesday, March 5th at 1030 am. Letters written in support of the bill are being accepted via e-mail to her local House Rep, Lisa Wojno, who introduced the bill on her behalf. They will then be copied and distributed at the hearing. You can send them to: lisawojno@house.mi.gov .Please write now, before you leave your computer. It won't take but a few minutes. Believe me, this bill is worth it!!Here is a link to House Bill 4896 (Senate Bill 0592 is an exact duplicate in its wording): http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billintroduced/House/pdf/2007-HIB-4896.pdf
Anita Walker Field
Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization
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GRANNIE ANNIE SENDS AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL SUPPORTERS OF MICHIGAN HB 4896
Hi Dee and All Your Supporters:I think it was a very wise choice to pattern your bill, HB 4896, after Oregon's, because of its track record in both the state and federal courts. That's a really good selling point. Don't forget the electorate who voted overwhelmingly for the bill and also the legislators, who legally could have changed that ballot initiative, but didn't.All you people who were involved with writing this bill should be very proud of yourselves. You all are filing a near-perfect bill. This is a bill that deserves a fight to the finish. Your bill is the one which everyone in the adoption community has been waiting for and can support it until it is passed into law. That's because your bill treats all adopted adults in an identical manner and all birth mothers with understanding and respect.Yes, there are always rumors of legislators and others lurking in the wings to amend your bill. You must not let them do this. They are not right. You are!! Believe in your bill 100%. Remember, you are not asking the legislators for pity, or for favors, or for crumbs. You aren't asking them for a registry or a Confidential Intermediary System. You are asking them to change an archaic sealed records system so that once again, all adopted adults can get their original birth certificates. You know all this already and I realize that I'm just preaching to the choir. But please bear with this old adopted grannie who has been around for a long, long time now. I write to encourage all of you to remain strong. Don't give in! Your first hurdle is the committee hearing that is coming up this week. Don't let any legislators decide what is right for you. YOU already know what it is right for you. And your bill says exactly what you expect. Don't accept anything else. Go into that hearing with your heads held high. You have the perfect bill! Some legislators will expect you to kow tow to them and to change your bill. That's what's happened way too often in the history of adoptee rights. Surprise them! Insist that they change their minds, because you are not going to change your bill.You can look for support from the adoptee rights network all over the country. Believe me, we are all behind you 100%. We want to help you take this unconditional bill all the way to the governor's office for his signature. Remember, too, that your bill is an adoptee rights bill – not a search/reunion bill. You'll probably have to educate a lot of people along the way who think that the intent of your bill is to facilitate searches and reunions. Please keep in mind that the people who want search and reunion bills are the very same people who want to see the state continue to exercise control over adopted men and women. Your bill deals with civil and human rights. You don't just pass out civil and human rights to some citizens and not others. It's all or nothing. Your bill rightly mandates the state to release all of its control over all of its adopted adults. I apologize for being such a cheer leader but the older I get, the more sure I am that a bill such as yours must not be wasted. It MUST be passed into law. You can do it!Thanks for your patience. Please feel free to circulate my letter.And remember, if you need any help, just whistle.
Sincerely,
Anita,
aka Grannie AnnieAnita Walker Field
awfield@gmail.com
Director: Illinois Open Org.obc@ilopen.org
Executive SecretaryBastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organizationwww.bastards.org
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