UPDATE. Bastard Nation Action Alert: Stop Louisiana HB 1028 from being heard in the Senate

This is a quickie action alert.  Please distribute freely!

Last week the Louisiana House passed 98-0  HB 1028   a very very very bad and confusing bill.  So bad, that in all my years of OBC access work I can’t remember seeing such a horrible  and convoluted bill that purported to be a “rights” bill.  You can read about the original  bill and its history on the Bastard Nation Legislative Update page.   (I’ll do the weekly update later today) after I’ve taken a couple packets of Goody.s.)  Amendments to the bill, which made it worse than it already was,  can be found here.

How bad is HB 1028?  Here is how one Louisiana adoptee who watched it from the beginning describes it:

It is basically a registry that now has automatic redactions, further restrictions on access and is based on the premise that one can get their OBC only if their parent has contacted the registry, joined it (hoops and hoops) and given their consent for release. If only one parent contacts and gives consent, then the other parent is automatically redacted. A parent can deny access completely and can redact. I could go on but it is just awful.

Senator Daniel “Danny Martini, is an adoptee-friendly legislator who understands our issues and had nothing to do with the drafting of HB 1028.  He says that if he receives enough emails and phone calls opposed to the bill that he will make sure that  HB 1028  is not pursued in the Senate.

Please contact Senator Martiny TODAY at :

 Phone: 225-342-2366

Fax: 225-377-2220

email:  martinyd@legis.la.gov

Your message need not be long. Just say that it places restrictions, automatic redactions etc on the adopted person and does not provide access.

I’m calling him now and will follow up with an email which I’ll post later.

UDATE:  HB 1028 has escaped into the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Please contact committee members, tell them why this bill is bad (ssee aabove) and to kill the bill.

Senator Ben Nevers (Chairman)
724 Avenue F
Bogalusa, LA 70427
(985) 732-6863
neversb@legis.la.gov

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