>From http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/edit/story/0128202004_edtedit0128.asp Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - Time: 12:01:51 AM EST Terrorism concerns put crimp on records Big Brother may not be watching you - but he's going to make it difficult for you to peek into the lives of your ancestors if they happened to be Ohioans. Access to documents such as birth and death records is being restricted by Buckeye State officials who claim they are acting against terrorists and other criminals. And, by the way, it is going to become much more expensive for you to obtain copies of such records. It is an open records issue not likely to be taken on by the press - reporters are more interested in how much money your county commissioners spent on travel last year than on learning the names of their great-great-grandparents - but it is, nevertheless, unacceptable. Officials say easy access to old records makes it easier for identity theft criminals to operate. And, they say, it helps terrorists establish false identities. Perhaps so, but those bent on obtaining the information they need for such misdeeds won't even be slowed down by the new rules. They will find other ways to get the information. Historians and genealogists, most of them amateurs who just want to know more about their ancestors, will be handicapped severely, however. Some simply will not be able to afford the new fees state officials say will be imposed. According to one news story on the changes, "photocopies that once cost as little as 25 cents per page must now be obtained by formal request at $15 or more per page." It gets worse: The state Department of Health is considering whether to confiscate some collections of records held by libraries, historical societies and genealogy groups. It all is an unnecessary restriction of the rights of Ohioans to learn about their own history, sometimes their own families - and they shouldn't stand for it.