[El Gato]

I bet he had to sign some legal document in person placing the birth certificate out of reach

Not really the Hawaii Department of Heath website had the rules already in place at least several months ago, which was just the first time I went and looked for them. AFAIK, they haven't changed, but here is what I just retrieved from the link above:

A certified copy of a vital record (birth, death, marriage, or divorce certificate) is issued only to an applicant who has a direct and tangible interest in the record. The following persons are considered to have such an interest:

* the registrant (the person whom the record is concerned with);
* the registrant’s spouse;
* the registrant’s parent(s);
* a descendant of the registrant (e.g., a child or grandchild);
* a person having a common ancestor with the registrant (e.g., a sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or cousin);
* a legal guardian of the registrant;
* a person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant;
* a personal representative of the registrant’s estate;
* a person whose right to obtain a copy of the record is established by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction;
* adoptive parents who have filed a petition for adoption and need to determine the death of one or more of the prospective adopted child’s natural or legal parents;
* a person who needs to determine the marital status of a former spouse in order to determine the payment of alimony;
* a person who needs to determine the death of a nonrelated co-owner of property purchased under a joint tenancy agreement; and
* a person who needs a death certificate for the determination of payments under a credit insurance policy.

So the governor is just restating the preexisting rules. How long they have existed is another question.

[Ticonderoga34]

A certified copy of a vital record (birth, death, marriage, or divorce certificate) is issued only to an applicant who has a direct and tangible interest in the record. The following persons are considered to have such an interest:

* a person having a common ancestor with the registrant (e.g., a sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or cousin);

I think I just realized why Obama went to HI to visit his granny. He wanted to make sure that granny didn't sign a request to give a copy of his BC to someone outside of his family. At least that's my theory.

[Defiant]

* a person having a common ancestor with the registrant (e.g., a sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or cousin);

Someone should pay Obama's brother in the hut $20 (doubling his annual income) to request the certificate.

[AmericaUnited]

After 911, most states adopted rules restricting releasing a BC to only those with a direct interest/link. We did not want terrorists being able to get/create, phony IDs.