Yes! I still have my original Birth Certificate
36%
No! It was lost years ago or I had to get a copy from the state
64%
Comments
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Who knows where my original birth cirtificate is. A copy has always been good enough. The President should not respond to these disrespectful distraction techniques of the manipulative, small minded.
Moved here from india many years ago. birth certificates in india when i was born did not carry your name, because tradition required a naming ceremony.You had to go back and get it named and many didnt bother. So I had a copy of the original which didnt go over well with USCIS
Thom,
Yes, I still have my original birth certificate as does my wife. However, a few months ago we went to the Washington State Department of Licensing to get our Enhanced Driver's Licenses so we could travel back and forth to Canada with ease. We took our original birth certificates with us, and the Department of Licensing would not accept it. I tried to calmly explain to the woman at DOL to look at the raised seal, the signatures, but she would have none of it.
Go figure.
Ken Grubb
Puyallup, WA
I believe the birthers are a disgrace. They are all terrorists that want us to be afraid of the President of the United States. It is disgraceful and untrue, AMAZING!
There should be some mechanism to measure the tax dollars wasted by these right wing NUTS ( I admit they are dangerous nuts) as they make numerous challenges in courts throughout the nation with the sole purpose of throwing obstacles in the way of President Obama's reelection. They do not practice conservative government, only obstructionists issue rants that spend your and my tax dollars indiscriminately for the purpose of their POLITICAL ENDS! These Sick obstructionists are driving our country to ruin. THEY ARE HATEFUL AND DANGEROUS.
i suppose if any non-white US natural born citizen run for president in the future will have to have their original birth certificate. this is a scandalous way to keep democrats out of any office. since republicans cant win with actually plans and solutions they want to lie continuously. i am so sick of of people fighting against there own best interest. corporate welfare at its finest and the party that supports there every move.
I don't ever remember having an original...have no idea what ever happened to it. When I got my drivers permit @ 15, I took in, and have used every time I ever was asked for a Birth Certificate (I thought it was actually my original) a birth certificate issued by the hospital provided courtesy of some dairy company. It used to be accepted, but no more.
Because of federal rules for more secure licenses, I found out this "birth certificate" is not valid. I had to apply for a certified copy (cost me $35.00) as well as providing a "paper trail" encompassing any name changes...can be especially burdensome if you're a woman who has been married, divorced or widowed. You have to have certified or original documentation showing each change of name.
I found out I actually never had the original copy when I applied for my passport. The copy my mother got from the Hospital, I found out from the State, was known as the mother's copy. This was not an offical document - even though it was a stamped and signed document. The state of New Jersey, where I was born, stated they never provided an "original copy" to the parents. So, if you were born in New Jersey, the only way to get a copy is to ask - but it won't be an original.
Here's a thought...if there was any question regarding the Presidents place of birth the Clintons would have exposed that information. It's a non issue.
My mom gave me my baby book which had my original birth certificate (with my footprints). I tried to use that to get a passport but was told to get the one from the state I was born in. The original was just formality I was told.
While there was certainly some animus between then candidate Hillary Clinton and then candidate Barack Obama, I think they are both above such non-sense. IMHO, there was far more reason to question John McCain's 'Murican-ness.
When I was born, the state of New York didn't give parents original birth certificates. They gave my parents a photocopy which was a negative print. When I needed a passport, the Dept of State wanted a positive print, so we had to write to the state of NY to get another copy, positive print that time.
My son was born in Maryland. The hospital has the original records. Maryland issues a birth certificate that looks like a driver's license. My husband doesn't have his original birth certificate either.
My father was born in Panama and lived in Cuba. He went to college at Georgia Tech for two years and was drafted during WWII. He doesn't have a birth certificate or naturalization papers to prove who he is and that he's a US citizen. He was advised to use his discharge papers from the US military for ID to get his US passport. When his wallet was stolen a few years ago, he was living in NJ. He tried to get a replacement license using his passport and his Army discharge papers. Motor Vehicles refused until he contacted his representative to demand that they reissue his license.
There are probably many more people who don't have birth certificates issued by hospitals, especially the many who were born at home. Does Rep. Hatfield, members of his family, friends and colleagues have their original birth certificates? This is a straw man which could easily backfire on Republicons.
Xenophobia is never a good reason to do anything.
I do still have my original from 1958. It is so faded you can barely read it. I needed to send away for a passport so I sent away to Ohio for a copy. They sent me a Certifcate of Live Birth which was different. So I have one of each. I got the passport using the original that is barely readable.
Donning my tin foil hat
As is so often the case, follow the money.
My wife was born in Maryland, I was born in D.C., and our kids were born in Washington State. As I've collected up "official" copies of our birth certificates from the various state agencies, while each will accept a paper request, if you want to request it online one is directed to the vitalchek.com
I suspect Vital Check charges the state a fee to provide this service, and they do charge an additional fee outright when one requests a birth certificate or other document.
Could it be this whole Birther non-sense is partially motivated by higher profits for Vital Check? If there's a new "red scare", then more people who've long since lost their original birth certificate will get a new copy.
I have myoriginal birth certificate that was given to my mother when she left the hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was a certified copy of the microfiche (black page, white lettering) It is 54 years old. I just used it to get a passport. the State Department sent me the original back after they copied it.
I voted yes, but I don't actually have the original. The original is located in the courthouse of the County in MN where I was born. When I needed it I sent a request to the courthouse and they sent me a copy of it. I still have this copy. It is not the original. It is my understanding the original never leaves the courthouse. I could be wrong. It's happened before.LOL
Jim
Actually, yes and no. I have the original from the hospital, with my footprints and my mother's fingerprints. I had to get a photostatic copy of the original official certificate from the state of Ohio back in the mid '70s so I could join the military, and still have that one, as well.
I had my original birth certificate when I went to renew my driver's licence in St. Joseph, MO. The contract workers refused it, as it was NOT ISSUED by a state. After heated discussion, I was arrested and spent time in the Buchanan County Hilton. Since I didn't own a vehicle, renewal wasn't an issue.
Moving to my native state of Montana, I procured a certified copy of my birth certificate at the local county offices (from Helena) and re-upped my driver's licence. Total time: about a half hour -- this included taking the written and driver's tests.
I guess some bureaucrats understand manure and red tape better than others.
Gary H.