Callsen & Gardner join as Chief Co-Patrons

Delegate Katrina Callsen (D) – County of Albemarle (part); City of Charlottesville and Delegate Debra Gardner (D) – County of Chesterfield (part) have signed on as Chief Co-Patrons to House Bill 2093, patroned by Wendell Walker (R) – County of Campbell (part); City of Lynchburg. HB 2093 is a bill that would restore the right of Virginia-born adopted persons to their original birth certificate at the age of 18. A right that they had prior to 1967. This is an important bill to ensure that adopted people are not discriminated against and have the same equal rights as all other people in the commonwealth.

As we have seen across the country, with similar bills being passed in both Democrat and Republican controlled legislatures, adoptee rights is not a partisan issue. Kansas and Alaska never sealed OBCs from adult adoptees. As of July 2024, thirteen more states have restored unrestricted access to adult adopted persons – Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.

We are appreciative of Delegates Callsen, Gardner, and Walker for recognizing that ensuring all people have the same equal rights is not a blue or red issue, but the necessary moral and ethical action.