Real ID: Bad Idea
The dangerous "Real ID" law, passed by Congress in 2005, was supposed to take effect this May, but a number of states, angered by the cost and pressured by citizens more concerned with civil liberties than the nebulous threat of rabid Islamofascists, have stood firm in refusing to go along. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security has backed down a little, delaying the deadline, according to this article in today's Washington Post.
...[critics] welcomed yesterday's official announcement that states have until May 2011 before they need to begin issuing licenses that meet the department's new guidelines, and until December 2014 to begin replacing current licenses. Drivers over the age of 50 will not have to obtain new licenses until the end of 2017.
The deadline extensions give both Congress and future presidents time to reconsider what opponents have depicted as a national identification system that will infringe on privacy rights and leave room for large-scale identity theft.
"DHS has kicked the can down the road to the next administration, and conceivably the next two or three administrations," said Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. Already, 17 states have said they would either refuse to issue the new licenses or have asked Congress to repeal a 2005 law that required states to collect and store additional data on driver's license applicants, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers and home addresses.
Under Real ID, all new licenses would be machine-readable and contain personal information that could be scanned by governments and potentially by corporations. [Emphasis added]
The idea of issuing "official" papers to citizens is repugnant to me, and it doesn't help that embedded in that identification card will be a chip that contains all sorts of information about me, a chip that can be read by anyone with the right scanner. So, like the other critics of the plan, I'm relieved to see both the delay and the loosening of interim rules. Perhaps a more rational Congress will take a look at what the 109th Congress did and decide that we don't need one of the hallmarks of an authoritarian government, that of "official" papers without which citizens are unable to travel. While I don't think the 110th Congress has shown the ovaries to tackle the issue, with any luck at all the 111th Congress will be better endowed.
But the news is not all rosy: states will apparently be expected to file for waivers to get the extension. As California has learned, the current administration can be very mean when states get uppity. Still, it's hard to believe that the airline industry is going to put up with the snags and delays at busy airports come summer, so the waivers may actually be granted, especially if all or most states insist on them. That ought to buy us the time we need to repeal this offensive legislation.
...[critics] welcomed yesterday's official announcement that states have until May 2011 before they need to begin issuing licenses that meet the department's new guidelines, and until December 2014 to begin replacing current licenses. Drivers over the age of 50 will not have to obtain new licenses until the end of 2017.
The deadline extensions give both Congress and future presidents time to reconsider what opponents have depicted as a national identification system that will infringe on privacy rights and leave room for large-scale identity theft.
"DHS has kicked the can down the road to the next administration, and conceivably the next two or three administrations," said Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. Already, 17 states have said they would either refuse to issue the new licenses or have asked Congress to repeal a 2005 law that required states to collect and store additional data on driver's license applicants, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers and home addresses.
Under Real ID, all new licenses would be machine-readable and contain personal information that could be scanned by governments and potentially by corporations. [Emphasis added]
The idea of issuing "official" papers to citizens is repugnant to me, and it doesn't help that embedded in that identification card will be a chip that contains all sorts of information about me, a chip that can be read by anyone with the right scanner. So, like the other critics of the plan, I'm relieved to see both the delay and the loosening of interim rules. Perhaps a more rational Congress will take a look at what the 109th Congress did and decide that we don't need one of the hallmarks of an authoritarian government, that of "official" papers without which citizens are unable to travel. While I don't think the 110th Congress has shown the ovaries to tackle the issue, with any luck at all the 111th Congress will be better endowed.
But the news is not all rosy: states will apparently be expected to file for waivers to get the extension. As California has learned, the current administration can be very mean when states get uppity. Still, it's hard to believe that the airline industry is going to put up with the snags and delays at busy airports come summer, so the waivers may actually be granted, especially if all or most states insist on them. That ought to buy us the time we need to repeal this offensive legislation.
Labels: 109th Congress, Terra Terra Terra
posted by Diane at 4:10 AM
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