Romney rejected new birth certificates for gay parents

[kpete]

Source: Boston Globe

Romney rejected new birth certificates for gay parents

As governor, he ordered review for each child

By Murray Waas | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 25, 2012

It seemed like a minor adjustment. To comply with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2003, the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics said it needed to revise its birth certificate forms. Instead of just “father,’’ the new forms would feature a box labeled “father or second parent,’’ reflecting the new law of the land. But to then-Governor Mitt Romney, who opposed permitting gay married couples to raise children, the proposed change was a glaring symbol of the decline of the traditional definition of family. He rejected the Registry of Vital Records plan and insisted that his top legal staff individually review the circumstances of every birth to same-sex parents.

Read more: http://bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/10/24/mitt-romney-overruled-state-agency-and-rejected-new-birth-certificates-for-children-born-gay-parents/TqOHBb99V98H6nGQqUQrjO/story.html

[yellowcanine]

1. So Romney allowed ideology to trump the need for accurate birth records?

And this guy claims he supports families?

[jonpaulprime]

11. He's a jerk

Nice one, Mitt. Not.

[marshall]

2. What if the "first parent" is also a father?

The state Registry seems to have been seeking a solution that would accommodate lesbian parents without regard to the status of two men in the same situation.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. For a birth certificate (as opposed to an adoption certificate), they may say the birth mother

is always recorded. So, even if it's a child born with a pre-existing agreement with 2 male parents, the birth mother goes in 'place one'. Whether they proposed a place for '3rd parent', where a 2nd man could go, I don't know.

[marshall]

7. Birth certificates don't always reflect birth parents

I am a single adoptive father. My son's birth certificate has only one parent's name on it--mine.

I think this is an example of a well intentioned group who aren't looking broadly enough at how they can help our diverse population.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. But maybe they do in Massachusetts (nt)

[leftynyc]

10. That's not his original birth certificate

There is always a second birth certificate given when a child is adopted.


In the United States, most adopted children are given amended birth certificates that have only the names of their adoptive parents.

In 44 states, original birth certificates are permanently sealed, meaning adoptees can never see their original birth certificates with the name of their birth parents. In Kansas, Alaska, Alabama, Oregon, Maine and New Hampshire, adoptees at 18 can receive birth certificates that have their birth parents names on them.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/nations-adoption-laws-unsealing-birth-certificates/story?id=12915810#.UIlm3m_nXIE

[marshall]

14. And those amended certificates should follow the Franch model

The same people in Massachusetts might today come up with something like France proposes: Parent 1 and Parent 2. But their original thought was to create a birth certificate that would work just fine for parents who are either a heterosexual couple or a lesbian couple. I'd like to think we have moved into broader thinking territory today.

[meeshrox]

9. Not always the case, but maybe in Mass...

My husband was adopted in Florida and his adoptive parents are both on the certificate. He has no record of this birth parents' names.

[SemperEadem]

15. before the legalization of same sex marriages

the woman's information appears first on the form, then the father presumably because women give birth and men don't. In cases which present different parenting (mother is unmarried, adoption, etc.), then the certificate is amended with the proper information. Such was the case for me 29 years ago. I wasn't married to Babygirl's father and had to have her certificate amended to include his name.

In the case of adoption, the initial certificate is sealed and never opened or released. Once the adoption takes place, a new certificate is issued with the adoptive parents name on it. My cousin, who was adopted, is running into major obstacles into finding her birth mother. Even 53 years after the fact, it's a blank for her and it really bothers her that she can't know who she truly is. My aunt and uncle who adopted her are long dead.

[hunter]

3. Probably thinks it would screw up the Mormon genealogy machines too.

The church has got a lot invested in that software.

[Panasonic]

6. Ancestry.com? It's not theirs anymore.

Got sold to some European firm this week.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1022/Ancestry.com-sold-for-1.6-billion.-Shares-soar

In other words, the LDS Church gains 1.6 billion for this useless crap.

[hunter]

13. The mormons will continue to keep their own records.

It's part of their religion.

This deal is like selling a CD after you've ripped the music to your own computer.

[brooklynite]

4. Now really, what;'s the big deal?

It's not like anybody wants to see your Birth Certificate where you're applying for a job. Or running for office.....

[Cali_Democrat]

12. That's what happens when you have a bishop as governor

We definitely don't need a bishop as president.

[hrmjustin]

16. Romney is such a bigot in the end.

He had promised he would be good on LGBT issues, but he acted like the RWer during his term. I can not stand this man. Let there be gay marriage everywhere my friends.