Photo Album & Stories
from the 3-29-08 demonstration, downtown Fort Worth,
at the Gladney Adoption Center 120 Year Anniversary Celebration

It was a good day. The public hunger for accurate adoption information was in evidence.  One woman had her family let her out and they circled the block in their car as she asked questions and secured information from Linda as to her desire to find her birth family for genetic information.  Another young man who was in town with classmates came up and asked many questions about adoption.  He was an adoptee. He is the young man in the red shirt shown in the photos below speaking with Karen about adoption issues.

Another man came up and asked Linda how genetic secrecy killed adoptees.  He had many questions.  His wife returned later and asked many more questions.  She was a Gladney adoptee from the 50's. She was not here for their Gladney event but just had questions. Her husband was very thankful for the information.  He gave a new cold bottle of water to Elise who had answered his wife's questions.

These photos have many more stories behind them.  The public is very supportive of our cause. Remember: over one out of every 8 members of the public is an adoption triad member.  They are either an adoptee, an adoptive parent, or a birth parent.

Click on the thumbnail photo below to see the much larger photo:

I was across the street earlier in the evening, probably taking the 4th photo above, when a well dressed woman, with her similarly well dressed family, noted my tie and the images of children on it.  She said she liked it.  I said it was from the Child Welfare League of America. She asked if I was attending the Gladney celebration.   I said no, that I was there with the demonstrators, and indicated the people with the signs across the street. 

She said no more but walked with her family past the demonstrators into the hotel.  (See tie illustrated in last photo above.)

It was a very good evening. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped to make it possible.

Such sidewalk demonstrations should become a regular event for adoption rights activists with any extra time to donate until equal rights are achieved.

Just before heading to this demonstration I was attending my Democratic Senate District Convention and we were able to pass the adult adoptee birth record access resolution unanimously in the Resolution Committee for Senate District 23.  This resolution provided for adult adoptees to have full and unhindered access to their birth records.  At some time during the demonstration that evening I was told that our resolution was accepted by the full district convention.  It will now go on to the State Democratic Convention. Versions of the same resolution have been reported as having passed in at least two other Democratic Senate District Conventions. Now as many of us as can should gather for the Democratic State Convention in Austin, June 5-7, 2008 and get this resolution accepted by the full party. Hopefully this same resolution is working it's way through the Republican convention system and all of us who are Republican should help get it passed at the Republican State Convention.  It has passed at both conventions several times in past years, but was always stopped by the Gladney Adoption Agency staff in Austin, or by other political pressure. 

This year many things have changed. We will have a more favorable atmosphere than ever to get our bill passed. We need to start visiting our legislators from now till November so they are educated on the issues before the legislative session starts. It is strongly recommended that everyone use the six page Executive Summary of "For The Records: Restoring a Legal Right for Adult Adoptees" for this educational process.  It is an excellent document we did not have before this past November. Copy it, study it, and bring it to your legislator to discuss with her or him. We still have a lot of work to do, but the probability for success has never looked better!

Bill Betzen
bbetzen@aol.com
www.openadoption.org
www.studentmotivation.org/gladney