States Challenge Nat'l Driver's License

It took well over 150 years but the states are FINALLY growing some gonads when it comes to the SUPREME FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. I thought I would NEVER see the day that state legislatures finally had enough backbone to tell the feds to get LOST.

My only complaint is that most states are complaining about the cost instead of asking the federal government where it gets the authority in the Constitution for such.
To those states which have already pssed laws to prevent this HOORAY !!!! To those of you residing within a state which could care less, I would recommend moving out ASAP.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/04/D8N31KOO0.html

States Challenge Nat'l Driver's License

Feb 04 12:38 PM US/Eastern

By LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A revolt against a national driver's license, begun
in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.

The Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly passed a resolution
objecting to the Real ID Act of 2005. The federal law sets a national
standard for driver's licenses and requires states to link their
record-keeping systems to national databases.

Within a week of Maine's action, lawmakers in Georgia, Wyoming, Montana,
New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state also balked at Real ID. They
are expected soon to pass laws or adopt resolutions declining to
participate in the federal identification network.

"It's the whole privacy thing," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation
analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "A lot of
legislators are concerned about privacy issues and the cost. It's an
estimated $11 billion implementation cost."

The law's supporters say it is needed to prevent terrorists and illegal
immigrants from getting fake identification cards.

States will have to comply by May 2008. If they do not, driver's
licenses that fall short of Real ID's standards cannot be used to board
an airplane or enter a federal building or open some bank accounts.

About a dozen states have active legislation against Real ID, including
Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire,
Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Missouri state Rep. James Guest, a Republican, formed a coalition of
lawmakers from 34 states to file bills that oppose or protest Real ID.

"This is almost a frontal assault on the freedoms of America when they
require us to carry a national ID to monitor where we are," Guest said
in an interview Saturday. "That's going too far."

Guest a resolution last week opposing Real ID and said he expects it
quickly to pass the Legislature. "This does nothing to stop terrorism,"
he said. "Don't burden the American people with this requirement to
carry this ID."

Though most states oppose the law, some such as Indiana and Maryland are
looking to comply with Real ID, Sundeen said.

The issue may be moot for states if Congress takes action.

Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, along with Democratic Sen.
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, filed a bill last year to repeal the law. Sununu
expects similar legislation will be introduced soon.

"The federal government should not be in charge of defining and issuing
drivers' licenses," Sununu said in a statement.

Privacy advocates say a national driver's license will promote identity
theft.

Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said
the Real ID ordered by Congress would require a digital photo and
probably a fingerprint on each driver's license or state-issued ID card.
That, he said, will make it more valuable to identity thieves because
the ID card will be accepted as much more than a driving credential.

"It's going to be a honey pot out there that's going to be irresistible
to identity thieves," Steinhardt said.

An identity thief, he said, could buy a Real ID from a rogue motor
vehicle department employee with is own photo and fingerprint on it.

"The victim is never going to be able to undo this," Steinhardt said.

Other criticisms include:

_Some states will have to invest millions in new computer systems that
can communicate with federal databases. That is something they probably
will not accomplish by the deadline.

_It will be difficult to comply with the requirement that license
applicants prove they are in the country legally. There are more than
100 different immigration statutes, Steinhardt said, which will pose
problems for motor vehicle clerks unfamiliar with immigration law.

_It does not solve the problem of terrorism. Oklahoma City bomber
Timothy McVeigh and some of the hijackers from the attacks of Sept. 11,
2001, had legitimate driver's licenses.

_Even the requirement that applicants' full legal names appear on
licenses will pose problems because some states limit the number of
characters on the face of the card.

___

On the Net:

Background on Real ID Act:
http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/realidsummary05.htm