Look I have no idea what the interpersonal politic or history between you and various other groups has been, nor do I particularly care, but as far as I’ve seen numerous organizations and individuals have been busting their humps to kill this bill.

There are those who have sat silently by, but they have been groups other than Bastard Nation, IL Open, and for that matter Green Ribbons or 73adoptee in particular, I have no idea what else GR has been doing other than the webpage and ‘change.org’ “petition.”

As for your “…delivered no effective argument against the bill” that would assume there were effective arguments that were not used.

Far as I can tell, the Illinois General Assembly wasn’t listening, it didn’t listen when those directly affected showed up to testify, it wasn’t listening when both the house and senate rammed it through, and it still isn’t listening now after the fact as it becomes clearer and clearer this legislation was build on a lot of assumptions, many of which were simply untrue.

Rather than blaming the Bastards working against the bill, maybe you want to take a deep breath and realize that the problem here was not adopted people (other than Feigenholtz herself.)

Quit blaming Bastards.

I’ve let each of your comments through moderation and I’ve personally taken the time to respond to each and every one. To be honest, at the moment, I’m at an adoption conference working over the next few days, and I have no time nor interest in watching you monday morning quarterbacking the best efforts of those in IL and elsewhere who fought this bill tooth and nail.

Take a look at my WTF page if you want more detail on my ‘comments policy’ but at this point, I’ve been more than obliging of you coming in here and trash talking about those putting their hearts and souls into fighting this bill and it’s past time you ‘got your muddy shoes off my heirloom coffee table.’

You’re blaming “adoption reform groups” for a massive change in awareness and landscape over the past decade (since Oregon was finally enacted in 2000) which is nothing more than more of the usual blaming the ‘victims’ or those on the receiving end of this legislative crap.

The real problem is not Bastards, it’s legislators who don’t know the differences between real adoptee rights bills and fake drek like the RI bill. It’s all those who project their abortion fears all over legislation that should do nothing more than restore adoptee’s rights. It’s lots of factors.

I’ve let you take up more than enough space with your bemoaning the best efforts of those around you working on all our behalf.

If you want to finger point, feel free, but my blog’s comments aren’t the place for it.

I agree, the AAC matter is a critically important question, and one I would like to see AAC address.

I have not discovered a single adoption reform group that supported this bill but I can name many who sat silently on their hands or who took whatever opportunity presented itself to grab the media spotlight for 15 seconds of fame but who delivered no effective argument against the bill.

I think there was a time, back in the 1980s perhaps, when asking for an incremental change made a warped kind of sense but that was before Alabama, Hew Hampshire and Maine where a champion of adoptee rights used their legislative power to right a wrong. We know it can be done. Sadly, we also know that adoption reform groups lack the skill to build a strategic alliance to fight a bad bill much less push a good one through.

Rep. Feigenholtz’s HB 5428 has been quite difficult to deal with. But now I’m outraged that a state representative or someone speaking for her would reply to a polite email in such an unprofessional manner.

Rep. Feigenholtz is an example as to why so many IL politicians have a bad name in this state, especially those from Chicago.

Gov. Quinn must be encouraged to do the right thing and VETO HB 5428. It obviously was sponsored by a state representative who cares less about IL adopted adults. It is no wonder that it is the worse bill possible and is definitely a giant step backward in adoption reform.

We need a state representative who cares about the adoptees to sponsor a clean bill. It might be difficult to get passed but with the Democrats controlling both houses right now perhaps it would have become reality. But Rep. Feigenholtz simply did not care and I think there is no doubt about it that she was looking out for her friend Melisha Mitchell.