A LESSON FOR DEFORMERS
Bastard Nation is Not the Only Ones who Oppose Baby Step Bills

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not intended to compare in any way the issues facing immigrants in America with the totally different issues of adopted adults in our country. I take no stand, pro or con, on America’s immigration policies.

What is a Deformer? Adoption deformer is a phrase coined by Marley Greiner, Executive Chair of Bastard Nation. Deformers are adoptees who us to proceed in baby steps. They ask us to accept bills which provide for conditional access, disclosure vetoes, contact vetoes, intermediary bills, white-out provisions or tiered legislation. Deformers claim that these conditional access bills have a better chance of being passed and that is reason enough for us to support them. They tell us that legislation which gives some adoptees restricted access to their original birth certificates is "better than nothing." They claim that conditional access legislation serves as intermediate steps to someday getting the true open records legislation.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Thursday, Oct. 25th, that the Senate fell short Wednesday of the 60 votes needed to debate the Dream Act, a bill that would give young undocumented immigrants the possibility of citizenship if they were brought illegally to the US as children.

What caught my attention was the part of the article that discussed the reasoning behind some of the senators’ votes – one long term senator in particular.

“Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa) said he likes the Dream Act and believes it should be enacted, yet he voted against allowing the Senate to proceed.

“’I do not think we ought to cherry-pick here,’ Specter said.

“I have grave reservations about seeing a part of comprehensive immigration reform go forward, because it weakens our position to get a comprehensive bill.’”

Deformers: If you truly want to see All adopted adults in the United States and Canada have unconditional and unrestricted access to their original birth certificates, then hang on to those convictions. Stop trying to pass open records bills that will “weaken our position to get a comprehensive bill.”