Virginia: House of Delegates Passes HB550. On to the Senate!

Woo Woo and Woo!

Yesterday the Virginia House passed HB550 66-32. The bill restores the right of all Virginai-born adopted people to obtain their Original Birth Certificates upon request at the age of 18. There was no floor debate. Oddly, more Republicans supported it more than Democrats. The bill now goes to the Senate.

HB550, prefiled on January 9 has moved quickly. House passage is due to the hard work of the boots-on-the ground lobbying of the Virginia Adoptee Rights Alliance, especially, Kelly Layton, Ann Mikeska, and Rebecca Ricardo who spent the last few days walking the halls to get this done. VARA is a member of the Capitol Adoptee Rights Coalition (Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC) which includes Bastard Nation as a core partner.