Record Sealing?

We’ve been working with an attorney in Austin via phone and email for our second parent adoption. The initial motion is in place, my fingerprints have been taken, and the social worker has been contacted. As the balls are in motion, I was sent a copy of the initial filing, a draft copy of what the judge will sign, etc. Both the initial filing and draft of what the judge will sign call for the records of the adoption to be sealed. As an adopted person who worked incredibly hard against my sealed records to find out about my background, my heart sank. I don’t want my son’s record sealed. There is NEVER a reason in existence to justify sealing an adoption record.


I have a call out to find out if we can have the clause changed or if it’s required. I really wish she would call me back because just thinking about it makes me angry.

Sometimes you feel lucky- sometimes you're just pissed

Background: I grew up in Florida, which until recently had an enforced ban on adoption by gays and lesbians. While there, I knew that I could never protect my family if the child of my same sex relationship was born in Florida.

When I moved to Texas, I learned that because Texas does not specifically forbid gays and lesbians from adopting, family courts in Bexar County (San Antonio) and Travis County (Austin) have interpreted the law to allow for second parent adoptions by the non birth giving individual within a same sex couple. While Travis County only allows Travis County residents to go through the court system for second parent adoptions, Bexar is open to residents of all Texas counties. I did enough research to find at least two options for lawyers who work with Dallas area couples and have a few recommendations for social workers. Until Tuesday, I've always felt lucky to live in Texas, where though conservative we may be, legal interpretation has taken the side of permissiveness. I've even taken some bit of pleasure in providing additional feedback to blog entries that say the opposite regarding Texas. I have an issue with people not taking advantage of the legal tools available to them to protect their families/their rights and then ending up in court, putting a child through hell.

For some reason, I woke up from a dead sleep at 2:30 am on Tuesday, absolutely livid that a child that is genetically related to me and birthed by my wife, would in no way legally be connected to me until I invited a social worker into our home, paid thousands of dollars to an attorney, and stood in front of a judge in San Antonio to prove myself worthy. I know this will pass, and I'm not going to put my future child at risk by attempting to protest the system- but I'm having a moment...