# Why might a governor seal a birth certificate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448 "2008-10-31T16:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/1 "2008-10-31T16:18:35Z")
I’ve been following the various groundless rumors popping up this election season and the birth certificate one made a question pop up: Could a governor seal a person’s birth certificate? And why would they? And no, I don’t believe the “Obama’s not a citizen” thing, just to be on the safe side. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/2 "2008-10-31T17:43:15Z")
Governors do not “seal” birth certificates, AFAIK, and Hawaiian Gov. Linda Lingle has not “sealed” Obama’s. This is just World Net Daily’s, um, idiosyncratic way of describing the standard procedure for refusal of access to a birth certificate by persons who don’t fall into certain limited categories (e.g., the individual whose certificate it is, close family members of that individual, etc.). As [their own article](http://smoothstoneblog.com/2008/10/obamas-birth-certificate-sealed-by-hawaii-governor.htm) says: > [@](#): > > The governor’s office officially declined a request made in writing by WND in Hawaii to obtain a copy of the hospital-generated original birth certificate of Barack Obama. > > “It does not appear that [notorious anti-Obama pundit] Dr. [Jerome] Corsi is within any of these categories of persons with a direct and tangible interest in the birth certificate he seeks,” wrote Roz Makuala, manager of constituent services in the governor’s office, in an e-mailed response to a WND request seeking the information. > > Those listed as entitled to obtain a copy of an original birth certificate include the person born, or “registrant” according to the legal description from the governor’s office, the spouse or parent of the registrant, a descendant of the registrant, a person having a common ancestor with the registrant, a legal guardian of the registrant, or a person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant. > > WND was told the official reason for denial of access to Obama’s birth certificate would be authority granted pursuant to Section 338-18 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, a provision the anonymous source claimed was designed to prevent identity theft. And indeed, if you go to [Section 338-18 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes on the Hawaii state government website](http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0338/HRS_0338-0018.htm), you can see that this provision does indeed prohibit access by random unrelated individuals to another individual’s birth certificate: > [@](#): > > §338-18 Disclosure of records. (a) To protect the integrity of vital statistics records, to ensure their proper use, and to ensure the efficient and proper administration of the vital statistics system, it shall be unlawful for any person to permit inspection of, or to disclose information contained in vital statistics records, or to copy or issue a copy of all or part of any such record, except as authorized by this part or by rules adopted by the department of health. > (b) The department shall not permit inspection of public health statistics records, or issue a certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible interest in the record. The following persons shall be considered to have a direct and tangible interest in a public health statistics record: > (1) The registrant; > > ``` > (2) The spouse of the registrant; > > (3) A parent of the registrant; > > (4) A descendant of the registrant; > > (5) A person having a common ancestor with the registrant; > > (6) A legal guardian of the registrant; > > (7) A person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant; > > (8) A personal representative of the registrant’s estate; > > (9) A person whose right to inspect or obtain a certified copy of the record is established by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; > > (10) Adoptive parents who have filed a petition for adoption and who need to determine the death of one or more of the prospective adopted child’s natural or legal parents; > > (11) A person who needs to determine the marital status of a former spouse in order to determine the payment of alimony; > > (12) A person who needs to determine the death of a nonrelated co-owner of property purchased under a joint tenancy agreement; and > > (13) A person who needs a death certificate for the determination of payments under a credit insurance policy. > > ``` So the reason the Governor’s office denied Corsi’s request for a copy of Obama’s birth certificate is simply that Corsi is not one of the few people who are legally authorized to see Obama’s birth certificate. The accusations of “sealing” are a deliberate attempt to insinuate some kind of secrecy or wrongdoing where none exists. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/3 "2008-10-31T17:55:00Z")
It would be interesting to try to get another person, who was born in Hawaii, certificate of birth. That way one could see if they are enforcing the law across the board ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/4 "2008-10-31T18:07:23Z")
**Markxxx** , [here’s](http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/vital_records.html) the website that tells you how to make an official request for certified copies of vital records from Hawaii government offices. If you know the name of somebody who was born in Hawaii, and you don’t mind wasting the time of Hawaiian government employees with frivolous requests, then knock yourself out. I doubt you’re going to get very far, though, as the Hawaiian government requires individuals to show photo ID when requesting copies of their vital records. But that does raise an interesting idea: If I submitted a request to the State of Ohio for a copy of the birth certificate of Jerome Corsi (Jerome Robert Corsi, born 8/31/46 in East Cleveland), and the State of Ohio told me to go jump in the lake, could I then go around claiming that the Governor of Ohio had sealed Corsi’s birth certificate and demanding to know what he was trying to hide? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/5 "2008-10-31T19:36:51Z")
I gotcha. I assumed the story was bull, I just didn’t know how much bull it was. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/6 "2008-10-31T20:38:26Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I gotcha. I assumed the story was bull, I just didn’t know how much bull it was. If it came from Corsi, there’s more bull in it than there is in a post-corrida barbecue in Barcelona. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/7 "2008-11-01T01:00:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > If it came from Corsi, there’s more bull in it than there is in a post-corrida barbecue in Barcelona. LOL. The funniest thing I’ve read all day - thank you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-might-a-governor-seal-a-birth-certificate/470448/8 "2008-11-01T13:59:09Z")
[An update.](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iw1At-4G1xuE50oXVFRlBPfR3dqgD945OLU00)