Shoot Out
By Alicia Lanier
Shoot Out
By Alicia Lanier
As several of us watched from the gallery of the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Tony Goolsby seemed to be straightening his white Stetson and loading his six shooter=94 for an adoptee rights shoot out down on the floor. He had authored H.B. 1835 early in the Legislative session, a bill that if passed would make it law to give adult adoptees their original birth certificates at age 21. The Dallas lawmaker was an adopted person himself and, although he had been adopted within his family and had always known his biological origins, he plainly understood the plight of adoptees who did not.
H.B. 1835 had been referred to the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee whose chairman, Rep. Toby Goodman of Arlington, had declined to give it a public hearing. His rationale as told to several TxCARE members: Governor George Bush would veto the bill anyway, so why bother.
But Rep. Goolsby believed H.B. 1835 deserved a hearing and an opportunity had arisen when Rep. Goodman's own adoption bill, H.B. 1091, had been scheduled for a vote by the full Texas House of Representatives. (See details about H.B. 1091 on TxCARE insert.) Rep. Goolsby, along with Rep. Alec Rhodes and Rep. Elliott Naishtat, decided to file an amendment to H.B. 1091 that would give adult adoptees access to their birth certificates. And, at the urging of TxCARE, they had already managed to get Rep. Goodman to agree to offer his own amendment to delete all confidential intermediary references in HB 1091.
Those of us in the gallery for the floor debate had arrived in fairly high spirits because we knew there was much support for giving adult adoptees access to their birth certificates.
For weeks, adoption activists on the Internet - along with supporters who relied on old-fashioned letters, phone calls and visits to get their message across - had peppered the Representatives with e-mail posts, calls, and faxes. The pace had increased in recent days with news about the planned amend-ment. Volunteers over the weekend had papered the House with colored paper...Representatives on Monday received info under their doors and in their desk packets...including the highly supportive Letters to the Editor that had appeared in the Dallas Morning News, testimonial letters from both AKA and TxCARE, fact sheets on H.B. 1835.
Not to mention that a half dozen TxCARE Adopt A Lawmaker and Bastard Nation volunteers had personally visited over 100 reps and their aides on Monday and Tuesday, handing out fact sheets and explaining about the amendment.
There was also the news about former First Lady Barbara Bush which we smilingly shared with any aide or Rep who asked about the Governor planning to veto an adoptee access bill.
A Texas adoptee now living in Michigan had had the opportunity to sit next to Mrs. Bush at her Management Club's dinner where Barbara Bush was to speak. Here's Danielle Wimberley's report on her friendly chat with Mrs. Bush which we shared with lawmakers:
I just returned from the dinner with Barbara Bush. Her speech was excellent! I had a short chat with her during dinner before her speech. I can't quote her exactly because I was jotting it down, but she said: She does support our right to our original birth certificates. She is aware of TXCARE and said you are doing =91excellent work.=92 She would not really comment on her son's views, but said that they have discussed the issue often and that she was =91certain that they would again...in fact, she would be sure to corner him on it soon!
I mentioned that we had been asked to write her and ask her to try to explain our position to her son. She got a chuckle out of that and said that he was some-times a bit stubborn but that she would do her best. She was interested to hear my personal situation and very supportive of my wish for information about my birthparents. She said that she wished all adoptees had that right as adults... and hoped her own adopted grandchildren would have access when older. Even without telling this anecdote, response had been good at the Capitol, and there were many lawmakers indicating actual or potential support.
Yup, we in the gallery were in high spirits.
From the front mike, Representative Goolsby gave a stirring opening statement about why he was offering the amendment. Before he started talking, the House floor had been noisy with everyone walking around and carrying on little conversations. As Rep. Goolsby continued in a calm voice, though, it became quieter. Representatives were listening intently as he told about being an adoptee and why adoptees deserved to have the same right to have their birth certificates as everyone else. He acknowledged the complexities of the issue, but spoke compellingly about the need for access.
But, before he even finished, Representatives began lining up at the floor mike at the back of the hall. Since we were in the gallery - a shallow balcony that encircles the room - we had a view of almost everyone on the Floor. Representatives at the mike began asking Rep. Goolsby questions and making comments. Some pro, some con. Rep. Goolsby was prepared. I could see him referring to Fred Greenman's letter!
Fred, a New York attorney-birth father who has worked on the Tennessee open records case, was asked to write a testimonial letter about HB 1835. (See his letter on page 3) Rep. Goolsby even read pertinent passages about open records NOT decreasing adoption rates or increasing abortion rates. He covered everythi ng except the issue of birthmother privacy; since several of us birthmothers had been talking to lawmakers in the past two days, we felt we may have sufficiently answered questions about that issue.
But, soon Rep. Debra Danburg - a popular, long-time lawmaker from Houston - went to the front mike and became emotional as she told the story of her friend, a birthmother, who had been terrified that the child she relinquished would find her. She didnt mention whether the adoptee had actually found her friend - but Rep. Danburg sobbed openly as she told of the friend's suicide.
The House was perfectly silent.
There was quite a bit of other floor testimony from Representatives. Adoptive parents-Representatives Alex Rhodes and Leo Alvarado both voiced support for the amendment to give adoptees access.
However, Rep. Charlie Howard, an adoptive parent from The Gladney Center, provided damaging testimony: He said he had been promised that if his adopted children ever wanted to know about their birth families, they could have that information just by asking Gladney. (When he said this, a Gladney birthmother sitting next to me whispered, NO! and rose out of her chair. For a moment, I thought she planned to stand and shout down at Rep. Howard.)
Then the vote started. It was a vote to table Rep. Goolsby's amendment, but several of us thought it was a vote For/Against the amendment. The voter board at the front of the House registers a red light for each no vote, a green light for each yes vote, and I wa tched excitedly as the board became largely green...then realized this was a vote against the amendment...and against adoptee access. Our bill was dead.
One of the amendment sponsors believes Rep. Danburg's testimony was the turning point. He adds that we should all be proud of ourselves...we got to the Texas House floor... a historic moment. I agree with his assessment. Im still disappointed- as I know all of you are.
Thanks to all who helped get H.B. 1835 to the floor of the Texas House of Representatives and SB 1445 introduced in the Senate. A status report on the Senate bill and a list of Adopt A Texas Lawmaker and other volunteers is in the TxCARE insert in this issue.
Last updated March 12, 1997