Yes, there is a bill in Oregon that if passed would gut the previous human rights victory that was Measure 58, effectively undermining the adoptee equality we fought so hard to achieve.

That said, take a deep breath, and don’t panic.

First of all, please read across to Bastardette’s blog post-

Oregon HB 2843: Hold Your Horses! Send Affirmative Letters

as she reports on some of today’s developments. A number of people have been working on this, including Helen Hill:

Helen Hill, chief petitioner for Measure 58, met with with Rep. Hunt and his aides this morning. Helen reports that their talk was very fruitful and highly positive. Helen will be meeting with Rep. Hunt again on Tuesday and feels that any escalation at this time would not be useful. If more action is needed after that meeting, she will let us know.

In the meantime, Helen requests that no “angry letters” be sent to Rep. Hunt, but…if you are an Oregon adoptee please write a note affirming the positive results of M58.

Rep.Dave Hunt@state.or.us

(* Update, Helen has since clarified with a comment about her meeting today on the post linking the Daily Bastardette here:

TO BE CLEAR! I did not meet with Rep. Hunt… I had a very brief meeting with the outer office people, who told me Hunt (who is Speaker of the House, by the way) was floating this bill at the request of a constituent. Two of the office people said “you don’t have to worry about this. it’s not going anywhere” or something to that effect. I left some written info.

I have a meeting at 1:45 this coming Tuesday with the legislative aid that is running with this. Ron Morgan is going to be there too, (YAY RON!) and any of you who are in the area and would like to come and discuss why this bill should be dropped, please do stop by Rep Hunt’s office next Tuesday.

so Helen has NOT met with Rep. Hunt at this point.)

Please note that they are only calling for contact  from those in OREGON or with a direct OREGON tie.

As she has pointed out, this is a time for Oregonian voices to be heard in defense of their own law.

Obviously, such a gutting of Measure 58 would affect us all, but right now, this is what the people on the ground most familiar with the situation are asking for.

I hope others will listen to that request. It comes from those who were directly involved in working to open Oregon in the first place, not politically inexperienced people. This is their home and they know the landscape.

Many people are blogging about this bill right now, but I hope others will listen to what those who brought Measure 58 in the first place are asking of the broader adoptee rights community right now.

By way of the big picture, Mary Hunt Peret has a useful blog post up from last night, Soapbox: Preserving Adoptee Rights in Oregon describing some of the background history and symbolic and groundbreaking  importance of Measure 58 and the the significance of what the loss of such would mean to us as the broader adoptee rights movement.

I have also barely touched on writing about some of the history behind Measure 58 myself. See:

Adoptee Rights 101: Class Bastard and how to recognize a genuine adoptee rights bill

C.A.R.E.’s lie; writing adopted people out of our own history

and Adoptee Rights Demonstration / Day for Adoptee Rights some history and Gershom’s “storm”

as but a few examples.

In terms of staying up to date on what’s happening with HB 2843 (link opens a PDF):

* Bastard Nation and a number of BN members are working against this bill. Keep an eye on the Bastard Nation Action Alert blog for any updates.

* Ron Morgan (who is also on the ground in Oregon) has set up oregonadopteerights as a communication portal. Please sign up there for further updates, and see the Action Alert.

It too, calls for contact from OREGON adoptees.

ACTION ALERT!

Are you an Oregon adoptee? HB 2843, introduced by Representative Dave Hunt (D-Clackamas) would violate your right to access your own record of birth and repeal Measure 58. Call Rep. Hunt TODAY to protect your RIGHTS!

Call Representative Hunt TODAY, at 503-986-1900, or email him at rep.davehunt@state.or.us and firmly but courteously state your opposition to HB 2843. Tell him:

* Your right to access your own birth certificate was affirmed by over 600,000 Oregon voters in 1998.
* In the eleven years since Measure 58 was enacted, 10,000 Oregon adult adoptees have been given copies of their original birth certificates without incident or problems.
* Oregon adoptees and their supporters are firm in their support of the current statutes and will not accept a return to the era of secrecy and lies in adoption!

* Finally, there is also a facebook page NO on Oregon HB 2843 where information will be posted.