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Archiver > TMG > 2011-01 > 1294601255


From: "Teresa Elliott" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Adoption was RE: Same-sex couple with child
Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:27:35 -0600
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In-Reply-To: <739124879.942201.1294599277738.JavaMail.root@sz0175a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net>


Well since it is the legal definition in the state where the bulk of my
research is done and also tends to follow the belief system of those in my
family who have adoptive children, and I don't know of a single person in my
database that would qualify for a Peerage or the crown, I am sticking with
it. At least until I find a genealogy program that will allow me to print
adoptive children as part of the family tree while still showing that they
are adoptive. (Special font, special symbol, anything).
Currently TMG allows me to make the relationship primary and it allows that
relationship to print on charts and in narratives as if it were bloodline,
but it does not distinguish those children as being separate from bloodline
children (unless I create a special name tag or use a narrative where I can
create events that explain the relationship). Most of us recording adoptive
children don't have an issue with that. We just create a Father or
Mother-Ado tag. Since our family members want their children shown on
reports, we make the relationship primary. We may explain about the adoption
in a tag IF the child knows he/she is adoptive or not if they child does not
know or the family is sensitive to the issue.

Doing that may offend those that follow strict bloodlines, but the fact is,
currently it's the only way I know of to handle having those children
treated as such in narratives and charts. I can clarify in a narrative that
a child is adopted. Not as easily on charts, though with the ability to
accent on charts based on a flag, I can still set that child to a different
font color.

But in this instance, I don't think TN Government is being silly. I think
they have truly thought out the issue of inheritance and how their
constituents handle adoptions. There are those of us asking that a
genealogy software company listen to our needs about social relationships.
One day, one of them will. And I foresee that day isn't too far in the
future.

Note: We aren't really asking that those children be treated as bloodline
children. We are asking if we tell you this is whatever relationship, that
you include the children in the report, but the report has some way of
identifying what that relationship is. It could be a symbol if a chart, an
extra indention if a narrative... A report option could be made to define
what the symbols mean or it could be done by only including those
relationships the report contains. We do not want to mislead any reader or
future researcher, we just want to be able to record people's children in
narratives because those people want to see the children they are raising
and loved as part of their family. I don't know of a lot of people who
would be offended to have their step children identified as such, but I do
know a lot of people who get offended when the grandchildren of those
children aren't listed on a narrative report. Currently my only way of
getting those grandchildren on that narrative report is to make that step
relationship primary.

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:] On Behalf
Of
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 12:55 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [TMG] Adoption was RE: Same-sex couple with child

You'll find such laws are mostly local and not universal...for instance, in
Britain neither an adopted child nor one born out of wedlock can inherit a
Peerage (or the Crown for that matter).

Not that it matters really because laws simply can't overrule biology - and
to think that any law can actually establish a true biological relationship
between two people is just plain silliness on the part of those who try to
establish such a law.

And yes- I'm from Tennessee too, so I know just how extemely silly our state
government can be.
;)


"Hitch not the Chariot of State to the twin steeds of Government and
Religion, for down that path lies chaos"
Leto II

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