Hawaii gets persistent requests for Obama birth certificate

[dkf]

State DOH still gets up to 50 requests a month for certificate

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

More than a year after his historic election, requests for President Obama's birth certificate continue to pour into the state's understaffed Health Department from people on the Mainland who refuse to believe he was born in Honolulu in 1961.

In an attempt to stem the flow of requests, the agency recently set up a special page on its Web site devoted to the issue of Obama's birth certificate and who is eligible to get the records.

But the requests for the president's birth certificate keeping coming at a rate of 40 to 50 a month, according to Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo, who has been handling the requests since Obama became a serious presidential candidate in 2008.

"They're spurred on by these 'birther' blogs who direct them to bombard the Health Department even though they have no legitimate right to the information," Okubo said.

"They've been misled to believe that the state of Hawai'i gives out birth information to anyone who requests it, but really our law protects birth information. We're entrusted with protecting people's vital records. To open them up would mean opening them up to identity theft and other types of concerns."

State law allows birth certificates to be issued to family members, legal guard- ians, representatives of a person's estate, or by court order or other legal purposes.

Okubo said those who have been requesting Obama's birth certificate don't meet the legal standards.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100219/NEWS01/2190362/Hawaii+gets+persistent+requests+for+Obama+birth+certificate

[randr]

1. Maybe it is time for someone to put his BC on bill boards across the nation

[Mugweed]

2. You mean Bush, right?

I never did see his certificate.

[ellenfl]

4. let's bombard texas with requests for dubya's bc! eom

[skorpo]

6. You mean--Bombard New Haven, CT for W's BC.

[Xipe Totec]

9. You got that right nt

[ellenfl]

13. dang! that's right, he's really a yankee . . . but let's bombard

texas anyway. :evilgrin:

ellen fl

[dkf]

5. I just wish they'd stop costing us money and time for this nonsense.

Hawaii is broke. Sheesh.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

17. I think at this point they all know he's a citizen, it's just all they have in their bag of tricks..

and that isn't much. They should put their efforts into forming tea parties if they were sincere in their efforts. The majority of the nation accept his credentials that alone should make him President even before they get to the BC, they are clueless in how the rule of democracy works or a variation of it.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. You will never please the birthers because it isn't written on white skin...

As long as Obama is black, the birthers will continue to claim he wasn't born here.

[DesertFlower]

7. i agree. nt

[marshall]

8. I wonder if Obama's "Auntie Zeituni" would qualify to get a copy?

As an aunt she isn't qualified to apply (or have him apply) for immigration. But Affidavits of Support can be signed by anyone, and as she is his closest living relative (outside of his children and siblings) he might be well positioned.

[zbdent]

10. hell, remember Bush41 almost couldn't identify his TX residence

when he ran ...

and there never really was any proof that Cheney was ever in Wyoming (since he left office under Bush41) prior to the few days before he announced that he had found the perfect candidate for Bush43's VP position ...

[ellenfl]

14. actually, darth was living in texas when he picked himself to be veep.

he had to hightail it back to wyoming pretty quick to establish residency.

ellen

[dkf]

15. I was surprised to hear that Texas has more fortune 500 cos than any other state.

[zbdent]

18. my point exactly...

[Arkana]

11. Ahahahahahaha.

Those people. They're so pathetically dumb.

If I was the Hawaii DOH I'd just hang up on these people.

[Cha]

12. They're droolng idiots on a mission..

What do you bet they report back that since they couldn't get the President's birth certificate that it means he wasn't born on Oahu?:silly:

Anything to birthers can do to hurt the economy in Pres Obama's birth state..

"The continuing issue over Obama's birthplace — and, therefore, his eligibility to serve as president of the United States — has led state Sen. Will Espero, D-20th, ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu) to introduce two bills this session on different sides of the issue.

Senate Bill 2056 would open up Hawai'i birth records under strict conditions to people who currently have no legitimate right to see them. Senate Bill 2937 would allow state agencies to label people who persistently "abuse" the public information process as "vexatious requestors," which would allow state officials to deny their requests for documents.

Espero does not necessarily believe that everyone should see birth certificates that are now restricted, but said he wrote the bills to trigger legislative hearings to discuss the issue.

"It's all because of the noise about the president not being born here," Espero said.

"I believe he's born here. Most of Hawai'i believes he's born here and it's not an issue here as it is with these Mainland birthers. It probably would not end all of the controversy because I believe the people that are these birthers have some other motives. Whatever you say or provide to these people, they will not be happy with anything."

State Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino — a Republican — tried to put the issue of Obama's Honolulu birth to rest back in 2008 by declaring that she and Hawai'i's registrar of vital statistics had personally seen Obama's birth certificate.

"This has gotten ridiculous," Fukino told The Advertiser at the time. "There are plenty of other, important things to focus on, like the economy, taxes, energy. ... We need to get some work done."

[firedupdem]

16. Ha!

"There are plenty of other, important things to focus on, like the economy, taxes, energy. ... We need to get some work done."

They can't get past having an African American president! To hell with those other issues!

[BlueIris]

19. Insanity. I feel so bad for the Department of Health staffers who have to talk to these wackos.

It's just not right.