Adoptee Rights Begins In Your Neighborhood!

Adoptee Rights Begins In Your Neighborhood!
by Mary Cullinane
January - February 1998 Issue, Adoption Triad Forum

Texans touched by adoption are asked to help get the Adoptee Rights Resolution introduced in their March 10 precinct meetings (see page 2-3), so I thought I'd tell about a get together at my precinct chair's house recently. I was actually walking my dogs to the park when I passed his house and he yelled at me to come over when I got back - and added, "Bring your resolution!"

So, I went to the party and got the resolution into the hands of people from three different precincts. When I arrived, I asked my precinct chair to introduce me to some people. One turned out to be a guy who sits on the county child welfare board who was very supportive. He's the precinct chair of the next precinct over, and he said he would personally introduce it at his convention. He's retired and is a real "pillar of the community."

I consider myself a shy person and I'm not a big fan of doing things like this, but it was really painless and easy. The people there were all my neighbors even though I didn't know all of them. And they are so delighted to see folks participating in the process that everyone is very welcoming and they want to help newcomers and become involved in good ideas like ours. Give your precinct chair a call and just discuss the resolution with him/her. That will give you a contact and someone to introduce you to others let you know about parties and meetings where you can meet folks who can help our effort!

I live in South Austin which is a very interesting mix of hippies, yuppies, ethnic minorities, and bubbas...in short, a strong Democratic area. So, when I told them we were going to make an all-out grassroots effort modeling ourselves after the Texas Motorcycle Association's bikers and their success repealing the helmet law, they loved it.

I hope you will go to your Democratic or Republican precinct meeting after the polls close. If you've not been before, it's interesting and fun. And - I hope I don't sound sappy here - but this is democracy in action. This is what all those years in school and home were preparing us for— to participate in the life of our community and this country. As U.S. citizens, we are meant to partici-pate and determine our collective destiny ourselves. Not everyone in the world can do this. My house-mate is from Peru. He was the second person to be granted political asylum in the Valley. He had to flee for his life and leave his family a few years ago because he was very involved in "democracy" in Lima. We don't know how good we've got it!

I love it that our Adoptee Rights Resolution has a chance to rise to the top...to produce a new law ... just by our taking it to a few meetings! The only thing that will keep it from happening is each and every one of us. If we don't do it, we are keeping ourselves in secrecy and perpetuating the system.

Jan-Feb 1998

Last updated October 22, 1999