Reply #24: Just some general information and a question

[scarletlib]

In georgia does the law allow for documented substitutions for birth certificates if one is not available? If not I would tend to think that would be unconstitutional and/or appealable in court. It is a fact that many elderly born before WWII do not have birth certificates.

Now some general information for those who may be trying to prove identity. I worked in AFDC/Food Stamps for many years and we had to document eligibility for elderly quite often. We usually could take two other items proving birth as a substitute for the missing birth certificate. First baptismal records from churches but also family records of births entered into family Bibles. (Since I lived in Tennessee/Florida, this last was most common among many families.) Next, this in one many may not have thought of but census records taken in the 20's, 30's and 40's can be gotten. These records often showed the presence of the child in the family at the time the census was taken. We could use this federal record as proof of citizenship for federal programs. Surely, a census record would be acceptable proof for the state? There were other things we could use to prove citizenship (and that is theoretically what this is all about) to prove identity and citizenship.

If an elderly person is already on Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income then birth and identity have been established with those agencies. There must be a way to retrieve that information if necessary.

Of course, none of this should be necessary, but these are some options to look into for the time being. I sincerely hope the good people of Georgia intend to fight this in the courts since the justice dept. has screwed them over.

Good Luck. Fight for your Rights!