I am pleased to announce that Reclaim The Records, a national organization that has been instrumental in securing the release of over twenty-eight million public records through freedom of information requests and lawsuits, has joined the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition as a strategic partner. The non-profit organization, led by Brooke Schreier Ganz, will bring their expertise to the coalition, including ongoing work to acquire and publish genealogical and vital records throughout the country. It will also promote the coalition’s legislative efforts to its own Texas constituents and followers.
With over 5,800 members and supporters across the country, Reclaim The Records works to restore free public access to archival records that have been wrongly withheld by government agencies, archives, and libraries. They have filed numerous successful freedom of information requests around the country, which have led to the first-ever free and online publications of important vital record data sets, including the New York State birth, marriage, and death indices. Since 2015, they have been the petitioners on seven state freedom of information lawsuits, three of them settled successfully with millions of records released and four of them still pending. They also are currently leading a federal FOIA case against the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Reclaim The Records is fully committed to the rights of adult adopted persons to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, without restrictions or conditions. They strongly support the rights of all people to obtain official records about themselves and their own families, free from unnecessary or paternalistic government interference.
You can find out more about Reclaim The Records at their website ReclaimTheRecords.org and sign up for their free monthly newsletter. They are also active on Facebook and on Twitter at @ReclaimTheRecs.
If you are an organization committed to the work to secure full adoptee rights, contact us to join our efforts. We are building a strong coalition and will be adding strategic partners and supporters who are committed to our goal.
The Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition is a coalition of Texas and national organizations working to secure the right of all Texas adult adoptees to obtain their own original birth certificates, without discriminatory restrictions.