Rep. Richard Stark (D-FL)

“Reworked” Florida Bill Does Absolutely Nothing

First published on March 12, 2019 • Last updated on January 29, 2020

An amended Florida bill does absolutely nothing and, in doing nothing, actually makes things worse.

Take Action: NO on HB597

First published on March 9, 2019 • Last updated on March 13, 2019

Take action today. Contact members of a Florida subcommittee to request a “NO” vote on HB597.

Florida Bill: Reunion Required to Get Your OBC

First published on January 31, 2019 • Last updated on March 13, 2019

Florida HB597 requires reunion with a birthparent before an adult adoptee can even apply for the OBC. That’s not at all a “small step” forward.

Open Letter to Florida Representative Richard Stark

First published on October 25, 2018 • Last updated on March 3, 2019

I ask that you support this proposed legislation and that you decline to introduce legislation that fails to provide adult adoptees with the unrestricted right to obtain their own OBCs.

The Truth About Florida

First published on December 6, 2017 • Last updated on January 31, 2019

The truth about Florida is this: no OBC access bill will get through the Florida legislature this session without legislators adding crippling and discriminatory restrictions. Ask questions. But insist on true answers.

Fact-Checking Florida HB357

First published on November 20, 2017 • Last updated on January 31, 2019

When you fact-check claims of anonymous people who tell adoptees to swallow inequality, the decision is easy. No to HB357. It’s yet another disaster.

Opposition Mounts Against Florida ‘Adoptee Rights’ Bill

First published on October 30, 2017 • Last updated on November 3, 2018

Adoptees and more than two dozen state and national organizations oppose Florida’s HB357, a badly flawed anti-equality bill

When Something is Nothing and Nothing is Something

First published on October 24, 2017 • Last updated on November 3, 2018

Florida’s HB357 creates an inequitable two-class system of OBC access that requires a forty year period to pass after an adoption before most adoptees can obtain original birth certificates upon request.

What’s at Stake: Florida

First published on September 27, 2017 • Last updated on February 28, 2021

If proposed legislation in Florida does not preserve a clean and unrestricted right to an OBC, then it will strip away rights from those who have already held them for decades.