Hawaii to Birthers: Enough Already

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Obama Administration

(Credit: CBS/AP)

Yesterday, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, signed a bill that allows state officials to ignore duplicative requests for copies of President Obama's birth certificate.

The state gets about 50 requests per month for the president's birth certificate from the so-called "birthers," according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Department of Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino reportedly said in February that the requests largely come from the same four to six people.

Birthers believe, contrary to overwhelming evidence, that Mr. Obama may not have been born in the United States and is thus not eligible for the presidency.

"The time and state resources it takes to respond to these often convoluted inquiries are considerable," testified Fukino, who has repeatedly stated that she has seen the president's vital records showing that he was born in the United States.

While the law is relatively broad - it allows all state government agencies to ignore duplicate or very similar requests - it appears to have been crafted specifically to deal with requests from birthers.

State Sen. Will Espero told the Advertiser the new law will help, though the problem isn't going away.

"It will certainly provide some relief and help that Department of Health staff [needs], although I don't think it will by any means put an end to the birther issue," he told the newspaper. "There are people out there, and mostly from the Mainland, who are just rabid about this and I don't think anything we provide or give them will convince them otherwise."

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by Funky-President April 8, 2011 7:49 PM EDT: I am not a birther nor a fan of Trump Palin or Bushco. I am interested in the facts which are below. It's seems Hawaii may not legaly be a part of the US! P.s. I vote for Obama

...The history of Hawaii's transition from sovereign nation to a state of the United States is a history of crime after crime after crime, of policy put forward by proclamation and reinforced by American weapons of war, of military incursion, of violations of international law and treaties then in effect. None of the events which turned Hawaii from a sovereign nation into a part of the US was legal and above board. It was robbery, by anyone's definition of the word, with the justifications and excuses made up after the fact to make the affair palatable to an American public that still wanted to view its government as fair, just, and honorable.

In 1988, a study by the United States Justice Department concluded that Congress did not have the authority to annex Hawaii by joint resolution. The ersatz annexation was a cover for the military occupation of the Hawaiian islands for purposes related to the Spanish American war.

On November 23, 1993, President Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, which not only acknowledged the illegal actions committed by the United States in the overthrow of the legitimate government of Hawaii, but also that the Hawaiian people never surrendered their sovereignty. The latter is the most important part of United States Public Law 103-150 for it makes it quite clear that the Hawaiian people never legally ceased to be a sovereign separate independent nation. There is no argument that can change that fact.

United States Public Law 103-150, despite its polite language, is an official admission that the government of the United States illegally occupies the territory of the Hawaiian people.

In 1999, the United Nations confirmed that the plebiscite vote that led to Hawaii's statehood was in violation of article 73 of the United Nations' charter. The Hawaii statehood vote, under treaty then in effect, was illegal and non-binding. (The same is true of the Alaska plebiscite).

In a world where nations are as governed by laws as are men, Hawaii is not and has never legally been a part of the United States. Hawaii was stolen from the Hawaiian people, and they want it back.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/HAWAII/hawaii.php; Reply to this comment

by Michele1246 May 13, 2010 8:57 PM EDT

Rolling my eyes at all the commentaries. People b**** and moan about whatever the topic is, tell others to get educated, and then can't even write a decent sentence, much less use their spell-check, while they're b****ing and moaning. How about we work on the public school system (who insists on passing kids who can't read or write past a 3rd grade level) instead of worrying about finding the ***** in the armor of someone you don't like?

Reply to this comment


by LocKDeltz May 16, 2010 8:45 AM EDT: Michele1246 you don't know anything, let alone about our corrupt public education system. You also need to get your priorities straight if you think were going to talk about the "issues" of education, instead of the topic. You need to get a clue and shut up.


by ronozz May 13, 2010 6:40 PM EDT: So where do you get all this information?

You got to stop watching Flen Beck it is shrinking what little brains you have left.; Reply to this comment


by barbaram99 May 13, 2010 4:18 PM EDT: McCain is not President of the US and have not been..I was in Maine when bush got a dui ticket..i did not vote for him..MaCain is a citzen as is both of his parenets. The birthright issue.Thanks to the founding fathers. As for race..There is one the human race..A nationalised can't be president..; Reply to this comment

by barbaram99 May 13, 2010 3:25 PM EDT

Have ye read the US Constution as it is clear on this issue..I was a small child when HI became a state. I am Maine born..The constutions states the person has to be born in the USA and be 35 and older..HI need to read the US Constution on this issue..The birther issue is new term to me . I don't need to see the President's birth record.. The presiden't late mother who a US citzen..I use the term birthright..A nationalised person can't be President..That won't happen..Thanks to the Founding Fathers..When the President was born HI was a state..

Reply to this comment


by rfp1959 May 13, 2010 3:44 PM EDT: Note: you do not have to be born in the USA to be a natural born US citizen. John McCain was not born in any US state. He was born in Guam or some other US territory. Of course Obama's birth place has been verified and ratified as being in Hawaii, but don't waste your breath trying to convince these birthers. They should be looking for their brains instead.


by Monkeydung May 13, 2010 3:53 PM EDT: that may be but obumba was born in Kenya. His parents called Hawaii and asked for a generic certificate to be issued which is not a "true" birth certificate. I spit on obumba and all his little kenyan tyrant friends.

by TurnAmericaAround May 13, 2010 2:00 PM EDT

I wonder if these idiots spent a tenth as much time trying to obtain records on George Bush's records regarding alleged arrests for cocaine and DUI and his Air National Guard attendance records showing his failure to show for training, while getting out of deploying to Vietnam.

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by flounderaz February 22, 2011 10:19 AM EST: Dan Rather proved that George Bush did not fulfil his National Guard obligations in Sept 2004 just before the election. The birthers in that time period claimed Rather's proof, the memos, were produced by Microsoft Word which did not exist in 1972. Dan, where are you?

by iamwatchin May 13, 2010 1:58 PM EDT

Yeah right - more people than you know, want to know why the President is spending lots of money to keep his records (including his birth certificate) hidden. Why not just show it to all?

Reply to this comment


by ronozz May 13, 2010 6:43 PM EDT: Do you know what planet you are on? What year is it? Do the men in the white coats know you are out of you room?

You got to watch more the Faux news!


by apuan777 May 13, 2010 1:54 PM EDT: Come on fellow Republicans, give it up. We are past that point right now. Forward thinking...forward. Let's concentrate on voting him and the rest of the liberal Dems out of office.; Reply to this comment

by klillie May 13, 2010 1:52 PM EDT

One thing that may hsve those Birthers scratching their heads is their uncertainty whether Hawaii is really a state. It's an island with a high number of non-white ethnic groups. Very suspicious. So why believe Hawaiian officials and newspapers. Now it's time to have a group called the "Staters" to question the legitimacy of a president born in states like Hawaii. Maybe they should even limit eligibility for the presidency to those born in the original 13 colonies for purity's sake.
Reply to this comment

Reply to this comment


by empressan May 13, 2010 3:34 PM EDT: ugh youre racist. one day us multi racial children will run the world and whites will be the minority. hey...maybe you are already. what do you think about my racist comment? hahahahaha.


by ejavam07 May 13, 2010 4:17 PM EDT: I agree: let's keep our presidents, and all state representatives, limited only to those areas that actually fought in the Revolution. None of these others have had to actually shed blood to obtain their freedom, so why should they get to vote on any matter. I'm talking about AZ and AL specifically. (This is humor people. Don't get your panties in a bunch.)

by klillie May 13, 2010 1:50 PM EDT

One thing that msy hsve those Birthers scratching their heads is their uncertainty whether Hawaii is really a state. It's an island with a high number of non-white ethnic groups. Very suspicious. So why believe Hawaiian officials and newspapers. Now it's time to have a group called the "Staters" to question the legitimacy of a president born in states like Hawaii. Maybe they should even limit eligibility for the presidency to those born in the original 13 colonies for purity's sake.

Reply to this comment