besides being into all below i am political the bill is promoted by the mass. clerks assoc. so you should call your town or city clerk the senate and reps yeah but what to say that will get them gulping The U.S. surgeon general said all americans need to do their family tree for health reasons they will tell you it is to comply with federal law so federal reasons will work. what if you have a genetic condition how can you find out about cousins if you dont have acceess. maybe you dont know about them due to family spats. and that person holds the key. you wont know maybe your wife , aunt , mom needs the info for better treatment In a message dated 6/19/2006 3:45:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: From the web page of the MA genealogical council - I cut and pasted this, as they are encouraging us to follow up. MASSACHUSETTS GENEALOGICAL COUNCIL Established 1980 P.O. Box 5393 Cochituate, Massachusetts 01778-5393 LEGISLATIVE ALERT...LEGISLATIVE ALERT...LEGISLATIVE ALERT... MGC urges all genealogists who care about access to vital records to act now! Legislative bills (H-3642, H-3643, and H-3644, petitioned by Plymouth Rep. Thomas J. O'Brien, et al.), currently pending in the Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee, are being pushed for passage within two weeks. They will close public records that have been open for 365 years [see item #48] as well as the indexes to them. We all must contact our Massachusetts state Representatives and Senators to oppose these three (O'Brien) bills for the following reasons: The bills call for restricting access to all birth records since 1915 and all marriage and death records since 1955. These records are currently open public records and are the entry point for genealogical and medical history research. Restricting public access to the indexes of these records is unprecedented. It will deny use by all non-governmental individuals: researchers in genealogy, medical history, probate heirs, banks, journalists, and historians. Contact should be made immediately. We stopped these bills in 2003 - but now support for them in the legislature is formidable. If YOU don't speak now, these bills will change the face of genealogy in Massachusetts and beyond. MOST EFFECTIVE: a signed letter with your reasons for opposing these closures, using your own words. ALSO: telephone calls, face to face meetings, and e-mails. SHARE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT: urge your sympathetic relatives, friends, neighbors, and the professionals listed above to do the same. Contact information for your representatives and senators is available from: http://www.mass.gov/legis/ your town clerk's office the state house at (617) 722-2000 The postal address is: Representative (or Senator) _______, State House, Room _______, Boston, MA 02133. Jim Denning -Ygenealogist-MTgenealogist using Genetics to connect Chelsea,Ma.-Woburn,Ma.-denning-dennen -danin-dinan-dinihey-denningston-dinning-carlon-carroll-dever-cogan-malone-heslin-piscopo-mazzola-martini-farrell-mchug h-farley-grimes-lynch-doherty-SanDanto,Ita-Adargh,longford-Revere,Ma-Wintrop,M a.- and ever an growing list List owner of Irish-dna,Piscopo-l-Heslin-l,McHugh-l,Cogan-l-Machelsea-l,Ita-Frosinone-l,Mazzola-l-Duggan-l Project Manager of Chelsea Ma. Genetics Project,Denning&Variants Project-Farrell Genetics Project-The Cogan Project- the Duggan Project- County Longford Project-Frosinone Italy Project-Parramatta-Sydney Project- Hannibal MO-QuincyIL Project-Brighton-NewtonMA Project