Dear Californians and everybody else out there interested in the future of genealogy, I just went to www.rootsweb.com and was shocked to see that the California legislature is trying to pass a law that will severely limit access to birth and death records in California. I know that I wish they would give us more access and not less. It is tough enough just going on birth certificates, marriage certificates,death certificates and census records, but now they want to take that away from us too. It wasn't long ago that the federal government raised social security records from what I recall being $3 to $27. That was a major blow to family history enthusiasts. This could be even worse. It will be bad enough if this law passes in California, but then the slippery slope effect might take place where other states follow California's lead and limit access to public records as well. I know that I would be very disappointed if that were the case. I read recently that genealogy is by far the number one hobby in the U.S. I know that I sure love it, but I never knew it was that popular. Please go to www.rootsweb.com and see more about this genealogical atrocity, and please write to the governor and Senators Speier and Bowen about Senate Bill 1614. Let's stop this here and now! Russ Lentz P.S. I will post information on this bill below. California Birth and Death Records Senate Bill 1614 The California Senate is now considering legislation that would reduce the information available in the birth and death record indexes rendering them significantly less useful and/or limit the use and access by genealogical researchers and family historians. That which to date has been available as a matter of law, would be unavailable as a matter of law, except by restricted access through a limited index in California County Clerk's offices. While we understand concerns raised about privacy and identity, we hope that those involved in determining the future accessibility of these records will balance their great and proven family history public value against privacy and identity concerns. MyFamily.com considers these records to be primary to the pursuit of discovering an individual's heritage and history; in fact, central to the human need that answers the yearning deep inside each of us to know who we are and from where we came. If you are concerned about this loss, and the fact that the legislation if passed might mean other states would follow suit, you can contact the relevant Senators and Senate Committees by sending an e-mail regarding your thoughts. This bill will go to the floor of the Senate for a vote very soon so do not delay in contacting your senator…… · State Governor: governor@governor.ca.gov · Senator Speier: senator.speier@sen.ca.gov · Senator Bowen: senator.bowen@sen.ca.gov · All of the above Details on the status of the legislation can be found at: http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/pagequery?type=sen_bilinfo&site=sen& title=Bill+Information Just type SB1614 in the space for "Bill number." National Genealogical Society (NGS) and the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) speak out on this issue. P.S. II I am looking for my long lost relatives that were last known to live in the San Francisco area, we believe: Mary Neumann (married name Cowan or something spelled like that). She had a son, but they left Pennsylvania around the time of World War II, and my grandmother cannot remember the name of the son. Her brother Herman (nicknames: Louie and Hermie) Neumann also moved to California as well as her brother Frederick (Freddie) Neumann. We think Mary was born about 1914 and her brother Herman in about 1912 and her brother Freddie in about 1908. Mary's husband was a mailman back in Pittsburgh, but I think he died before she left for CA. I could be wrong though. Mary's parents were August (nickname: Albert) Neumann and Katherine M. (nickname: Kitty) White. My grandmother is just dying to know what ever happened to her cousins.