Whatever gave you the idea that what governments do is logical? Regards, Charles Sullivan Lynn Brandvold <lynn@gis.nmt.edu> wrote: >Hi GEN-NYers, > >I received the message below. Does anyone know the answer? I hadn't >thought about it before but Valerie is right, it does sound illogical. > >Lynn > > >> Dear Lynn >> >> I have used the FOIA to obtain records of people listed in the Social >> Security death benefits list and have found only one problem with the >> process -- that it is very slow. However, in New York State, there are >> particular state laws preventing non-direct descendants from obtaining >> vital records of a person before a certain number of years, a number >> that changes depending on the type of record and whether the person is >> alive. >> >> My question is: Does the Committee for Open Government in Albany intend >> FOIA to override these privacy laws? It seems odd that I can find out >> birth/parent details on someone who died in 1999 if I write to the >> Frederal Govt., but I have to wait for 50 years according to NYS >> regulations. All it means to genealogists is that there is a period of >> time that precedes the SS list of people but that is closed to easy >> research because it falls into the privacy category. It all seems >> illogical. >> >> Valerie Clift > > >==== GEN-NYS Mailing List ==== >Have you considered joining the Rootsweb Genealogical Data >Cooperative? > http://www.rootsweb.com/