(Genealogy) Information is Power

Terry J. Allen has an article about a topic that many genealogists should be aware of, called Information is power. It’s pretty frightening, and unfortunately if everything goes through as planned, getting any of it reversed is going to almost be impossible. States are fighting it, althought not out of any love for genealogists, but rather out of costs and whether or not it’s a federal or state issue.

Excerpt from article:

America in the name of national security. Buried within the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 is a regulation that bars most public access to birth and death certificates for 70 to 100 years. In much of the country, these records have long been invaluable tools for activists, lawyers, and reporters to uncover patterns of illness and pollution that officials miss or ignore.

In These Times has obtained a draft of the proposed regulations now causing widespread concern among state officials. It reveals plans to create a vast database of vital records to be centralized in Washington, and details measures that states must implement–and pay millions for—before next year’s scheduled implementation.

It gets into a lot of other issues as well, some of which are quite scary.

via Eastman’s

Leave a Comment