Hawaii lawmakers want release of Obama birth information

[The Straight Story]

Hawaii lawmakers want release of Obama birth information

Anyone would be able to get a copy of President Barack Obama's birth records for a $100 fee under a bill introduced in the state Legislature that backers hope will finally dispel claims he was born elsewhere.

The bill would change a privacy law barring the release of birth records unless the requester is someone with a tangible interest, such as a close family member.

The measure was introduced by five Democrats but has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing, a required step before it can move forward. A decision on considering the bill will be made by the House's Democratic leadership and committee chairmen.

The idea behind the measure is to end skepticism over Obama's birthplace while raising a little money for a government with a projected budget deficit exceeding $800 million over the next two years.

"If it passes, it will calm the birthers down," said the bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Rida Cabanilla. "All these people are still doubting it because they don't want the birth certificate from Obama. They want it from our state office."

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/114749844.html

[uppityperson]

1. Bet they can make some real money doing that. Too funny.

[mrcheerful]

2. Sorry but no it won't calm birthers down because they won't let anything

get in the way of their belief that somehow Obama isn't a natural born citizen. Remember O's mom was an American citizen so that should have stopped the birthers, but instead they used everything from age to lies about giving up citizenship to prove their belief.

[PufPuf23]

3. The Official Birth Certificates could be sold on late night

television and if you order in the next 10 minutes one also gets a small vial of genuine beach sand from a beach where POTUS Obama played as a child.

[bluestateguy]

4. Dumb idea. You are pandering to a bunch of racist conspiracy theorists

They will not be appeased. They'll just say the documents were forged or falsified by OBAMA'S SECRET AGENTS IN HAWAII. And then new variations of the conspiracy will germinate.

This is only giving these assclowns a legitimacy they do not deserve.

[Arkana]

5. I could get behind this.

100 bucks for a copy of Obama's birth certificate. Soak the birthers for money--why not?

[Tunkamerica]

8. And how much should the government charge for your personal documents?

It can't just be for Obama, and getting access to birth certificates makes stealing an identity even easier than it already is.

[blondeatlast]

16. That's exactly what I was thinking--why go to all the trouble to fake a document

when you cna buy one for $100?

[madmax]

6. Hell with calming them

Let them freak and rave on. They're not worth paying any attention to.

[LiberalFighter]

7. I wonder if it might violate their Constitution to enact a law

effecting just one person.

[NYC Liberal]

11. It would violated the US Constitution, actually.

Bills of attainder punish specific people without trial or due process.

Obama's right to privacy - and only Obama's - would be violated by a legislative act rather than having it be done through the judicial system.

[Art_from_Ark]

12. Considering that Obama has the only job in the US for which natural-born

citizenship is a Constitutionally-mandated job requirement (well, OK, he and Biden), I don't see how it violates his right to privacy to show his birth certificate. Waffling on this only seems to make the other side even more convinced that Obama isn't a natural-born citizen.

[NYC Liberal]

14. It is not required that the birth certificate be made public.

The only reason why they are considering this is because they're annoyed by the constant requests of nut jobs, not because it's required by the Constitution.

[blondeatlast]

18. Do you, in your own humble opinion, think he needs to produce it?

I don't mean to prove it to others--does he need to provide it to satisfy YOU?

[Art_from_Ark]

19. Personally, the stonewalling over this does bother me

I mean, what is shown on the birth certificate that is not public knowledge anyway for a person in his position? My birth certificate shows my name, my date and place of birth, my parents' names, and their respective birthplaces. If I were officially running for President, all that would be public knowledge anyway. If I were asked to produce the certificate, as a Presidential candidate, I would have no trouble providing it, since natural-born citizenship is a prerequisite for the job. The stonewalling in this case only causes the other side to become even more suspicious. That's what I'm saying.

[blondeatlast]

20. The other side is nuts. the vast majority of Americans are satisfied--

I find doubters to be as curious as "intelligent design" types.

[Art_from_Ark]

21. And yet, it was 5 Democrats in the Hawaii legislature

who introduced the legislation discussed in the OP. Are they nuts, too?

[blondeatlast]

22. Yes, IMHO. nt

[housewolf]

9. If they do it, they ought to charge $1,000 or $10,000 per copy

At least make it cost them something more than $100 for all the pain and suffering they've caused the rest of us, not to mention the State of Hawaii with all their requests

[dkf]

13. 1st copy costs $50,000. Then $10,000 each.

[NYC Liberal]

10. Wait, is this bill only targeted at Obama's birth certificate

or are they changing the law so that anyone can get anyone's birth certificate for $100?

Smells like a bill of attainder if it only applies to Obama. Only his privacy would be allowed to be violated, while everyone else's is not infringed upon.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

15. When dumb reaches a fevered pitch...aim for stupidity n/t

[Bunny]

17. What bullshit. In the first place, NOTHING will convince the birthers

that Obama is the legitimately elected president. If they get this, they'll just say that because his father was Kenyan that he has dual citizenship. Or that his stepfather legally adopted him so therefore he relinquished his American citizenship. Or some other such cockamamie theory. There is nothing anyone can say and no amount of evidence to convince them otherwise.

The privacy concerns involved in this are scary. If it just relates to Obama, that sounds like a bill of attainder, which is illegal. If it applies to everyone, think of the problems this would cause, especially with identity theft, as someone else has already pointed out on this thread.

Bad law. Those five Democrats should know better.

[jmowreader]

23. I can think of a bunch of reasons this won't work

It's a bill of attainder, for one thing, and is therefore illegal.

Pretend for a minute they pass this clearly unconstitutional law. The very first thing that will happen is Orly will announce to the world that the BC the Hawaiians are selling is fake--without actually ordering one. Half the birthers will bow to Queen Orly and agree it's fake.

Next, Free Republic member "Buckhead," assuming he hasn't been zotted in one of Rimjob's purges, will send in his $100. Upon receiving the BC, he will immediately proceed to FR to announce the BC is fake because they used a font that was released in September 1961 to typeset the form. Or what's the new Web Home for Emancipated Freepers? He might be posting there.

Tea Bag Nation will announce the BC is fake because there aren't any little future-president footprints on it, ignoring totally that official BCs never have footprints on them.

Tea Bag Express will announce it's fake because Orly and TBN say it's fake, and neither is ever wrong.

The People's Front of Judea will claim the Judean People's Front faked the BC to draw attention from the fact the Romans are still in their land. They'll also say the Popular Front of Judea had something to do with it even though the Popular Front is still only one guy.