House Bill 1148 has passed in Indiana raising from 75 years to 99 years the ability to obtain a birth certificate.
I am embarrassed to live in a state that votes by fake “fears” than by real truths.
I am sharing the ignorant letter I received from one of the state senators:
Office of Senator Greg Walker
| Dear L S, Thank you for your email regarding your opposition to House Bill 1148. At this time, I am in support of the bill’s proposal to expand accessibility to birth records for 99 years instead of the current 75 years.With the increasing longevity of individuals and the rise in identity theft, this bill is a necessary step in protecting against fraud. The expanded access will help ensure the safety and security of living persons’ identities.Again, I appreciate you reaching out. If you have any other questions or concerns in the future please feel free to reach out again. Sincerely, Senator Greg Walker District 41 Indiana Senate Here was my response: Dear Senator Walker, Thank you for your response. However, I was disheartened to read your justification for supporting HB 1148. The claim that expanding the restriction on birth records from 75 to 99 years is necessary due to “increasing longevity” and “identity theft” is not only unsupported—it’s misleading. There is no documented evidence that public access to 75-year-old birth certificates has contributed in any meaningful way to identity theft. In fact, neither the Federal Trade Commission nor the Identity Theft Resource Center lists genealogical or archival access as a source of modern identity theft. Further, life expectancy in the U.S. is currently decreasing, not increasing (CDC, 2023), and even at its highest levels, the 75-year threshold was still sufficient to protect living individuals. Your claim does not hold up to scrutiny. Restricting access to these vital records undermines legitimate genealogical, historical, and medical research. Many state archives and national organizations—including the National Genealogical Society and the Records Preservation and Access Coalition—oppose measures like this for good reason: they cut off access to essential public records without any demonstrable benefit. I respectfully ask you to share the data or studies you are using to support your position. If your stance is truly rooted in protecting citizens, transparency and evidence should be the foundation. Of course, he didn’t respond because he has no proof. As my grandmother used to say, you can’t fix stupid! And this country is being run by STUPIDS! Want to know what else has been taken away from us in the past month?! I tried to go online to NARA for a Civil War document they had posted previously, a land patent at the Bureau of Land Management, and an old tax record from the 1700s – All removed. BLM wants you to pay for the record it now claims it doesn’t have. Jokes on them as I hope, like me, you were smart enough TO HAVE SAVED A COPY of your government documents and remembered to source it. I am strongly urging my fellow Americans to do the following: 1. If you haven’t saved the records you found by all means do so ASAP. 2. This is especially urgent if you have birth records in Indiana. I have noticed that some marriage records have also disappeared from Ancestry.com. Take action now. 3. Remain vigilant of bills that are floating through state and federal bodies. 4. SPEAK UP! 5. VOTE these fools out of office. EVERY.LAST.ONE! My pioneer ancestors would have been appalled by these clowns. They founded Indiana to be less government. Don’t believe me? Read the history before they take that away, too. There are now TWO bills in Indiana to severely cut funding to libraries. Why? Keep the peeps from knowing the truth. I may be old, and a token female (Yep, been told that by politicians in my own town “We believe in diversity and we need to replace a woman with a woman.” So an old white woman is considered diversity in Indiana. Think about that for a moment. Keep just ONE woman on a board and the rest the big boys.) but I will not go away quietly. I will continue to RESIST and I look forward to you joining me. |