IDPeople regularly voice how easy it is to get an ID or birth certificate, and conclude that anyone who can’t must be illegal or lazy. Well, when my dad and I recently were at a driver’s license office, an elderly man next to us was trying to get an ID so he could get a visa to travel. He had a stack of papers documenting his military career and all past expired driver’s licenses and IDs. He was born in a small town and was never issued a birth certificate.
The man and his daughter had been trying all year to get all the right documentation. Even though the employees were bending over backward trying to help the guy, they couldn’t get past the legal requirements.
The look of despair on this man’s face is something my dad and I will never forget.
As this poor guy, clutching his cane, started walking off, his daughter said to him, “I guess we’ll have to figure out how to get you a birth certificate.” He replied, “By then I’ll be dead.”
This man made a career out of defending our country only to be defeated by the very people for whom he was willing to sacrifice his life.
JOHN L. OTTO Jr.
Wichita
Now look at the bottom sentence of requirements to get a birth certificate. Chicken before the egg?
Birth
Event: Birth
Cost of copy: $15.00
Address:
Office of Vital Statistics
Curtis State Office Building
1000 SW Jackson Street, Suite 120
Topeka, Kansas 66612-2221
Remarks: State office has records since July 1911. For earlier records, write to County Clerk in county where event occurred. Additional copies of same record ordered at same time are $15.00 each.
Personal check or money order should be made payable to Vital Statistics. Personal checks are accepted. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (785) 296-1400. This will be a recorded message with the option to speak with a Customer Service Representative. Information on how to obtain certified copies is also available via the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics websiteExternal Web Site Icon.
The applicant MUST include a copy of a photo ID and a handwritten signature with the request.
GuzziJohn
Read more here:
http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/26/3311319/letters-to-the-editor-on-education.html#storylink=cpy