Hawaii sick of requests asking for proof of Obama's birth
Source: Agencies |
March 18, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HAWAII may start ignoring repeated requests for proof that US President Barack Obama was born there.
As the state continues to receive e-mails seeking Obama's birth certificate, the House Judiciary Committee heard a bill on Tuesday permitting government officials to ignore people who won't give up.
So-called "birthers" claim Obama was actually born outside the US, and therefore doesn't meet a constitutional requirement for being president.
Hawaii Health Director Dr Chiyome Fukino issued statements last year and in October 2008 saying that she has seen records that prove Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Obama was born to a Kenyan father and an American mother.
But the state still gets 10-20 e-mails a week seeking verification of Obama's birth, most of them from outside Hawaii, said Lorrin Kim, chief of the Hawaii Department of Health's Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development. "Sometimes we may be dealing with a cohort of people who believe lack of evidence is evidence of a conspiracy," Kim said on Tuesday.
A few of these requesters continue to pepper the Health Department with the same letters seeking the same information, even after they're told state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest. Responding wastes time and money, Kim said.
The issue coincides with Sunshine Week, when news organizations promote open government and freedom of information.
"Do we really want to be known internationally as the Legislature that blocked any inquiries into where President Obama was born?" asked Republican Representative Cynthia Thielen. "When people want to get more information, the way to fuel that fire is to say, 'We're now going to draw down a veil of secrecy.'"
Attorney Peter Fritz asked why the state would pass a law punishing repetitive requests for open records. Instead, the state could simply say it would only answer each person's question once.
If the measure passed, the state Office of Information Practices could declare an individual a "vexatious requester" and restrict rights to government records for two years.
As the state continues to receive e-mails seeking Obama's birth certificate, the House Judiciary Committee heard a bill on Tuesday permitting government officials to ignore people who won't give up.
So-called "birthers" claim Obama was actually born outside the US, and therefore doesn't meet a constitutional requirement for being president.
Hawaii Health Director Dr Chiyome Fukino issued statements last year and in October 2008 saying that she has seen records that prove Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Obama was born to a Kenyan father and an American mother.
But the state still gets 10-20 e-mails a week seeking verification of Obama's birth, most of them from outside Hawaii, said Lorrin Kim, chief of the Hawaii Department of Health's Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development. "Sometimes we may be dealing with a cohort of people who believe lack of evidence is evidence of a conspiracy," Kim said on Tuesday.
A few of these requesters continue to pepper the Health Department with the same letters seeking the same information, even after they're told state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest. Responding wastes time and money, Kim said.
The issue coincides with Sunshine Week, when news organizations promote open government and freedom of information.
"Do we really want to be known internationally as the Legislature that blocked any inquiries into where President Obama was born?" asked Republican Representative Cynthia Thielen. "When people want to get more information, the way to fuel that fire is to say, 'We're now going to draw down a veil of secrecy.'"
Attorney Peter Fritz asked why the state would pass a law punishing repetitive requests for open records. Instead, the state could simply say it would only answer each person's question once.
If the measure passed, the state Office of Information Practices could declare an individual a "vexatious requester" and restrict rights to government records for two years.
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