The following was sent to me and requested that I put on the Plymouth page. A similar bill was defeated here in Oklahoma due to the large volume of mail received at the Capitol mainly from Genealogist. Please contact your State Represenative about the bill. Even if you don't live in Plymouth or Massachusetts please contact the Represenative for the district of your interest or any district. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Hello The Massachusets Genealogical Council (MGC) board http://massgencouncil.home.attbi.com/index.htm held an emergency meeting this evening in Waltham MA to review the text of an alarming, and recently introduced, Massachusetts House of Representatives bill H5158 (see links below for issues, status and contact information). The most pressing aspect of H5158, on preliminary review, is that it would close marriage and death records since 1950, as well as birth records after 1910, to public access - including their indicies! MGC is recommending that all Massachusetts residents contact their Representative and that all non-resident Massachusetts researchers contact a Massachusetts resident to represent their interests - immediately as the formal sessions close on July 31st - but impromptu sessions have sometimes been used to pass such legislation! ( see http://www.state.ma.us/legis/repdis01.htm for districts) The general content of the legislative protest letters should at least cover the following points, be sincere, personalized and not appear in a form letter format: ==================================================================== Dear (Representative Name): The Birth, Marriage and Death records (Vital Records) of the Commonwealth have always been open to the public with few specific exceptions. House Bill 5158, currently reported out to the Committee on House Rules, would close Birth Records after 1910 and Marriage and Death Records since 1950 to public access. We ask that you encourage further study of this Bill by the Committee on House Rules and that you vote AGAINST this bill should it come to floor vote. H5158 would affect every citizen of the Commonwealth. Among other things it would: 1) block access to recent death records so that family medical histories could not be ascertained; 2) increase expenses for persons needing to prove legitimate access to the Vital Records; 3) not affect the risks of identity fraud or theft which does not occur from personal inspection of the Vital Records. Again I/we urge you to defeat H5158. Sincerely, Sharon Sergeant <info@genealogyfair.com> ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.state.ma.us/legis/repdis01.htm ----------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Fred MAPLYMOU-L Page Administrator Frederick M. Dittmar Diggin' Deep Genealogy - Research Service Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma 73070-2601 http://www.dittmar.net/fred Member: Association of Professional Genealogist Mail List Administrator: MAPLYMOU-L@rootsweb.com DITTMAR-L@rootsweb.com CANNING-L@rootsweb.com DITTMAN-L@rootsweb.com Genealogical Assistant & Board Member Oklahoma Genealogical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgs