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Real ID Produces a Real Showdown
By Privacy Maven | January 12, 2008
Real ID pits states against the federal government.
The federal government issued national standards on Friday that states would have to meet in order for driver’s licenses they issue to qualify as identification at airports and federal buildings, setting the stage for a confrontation with states that have voted not to cooperate.
Under a measure known as Real ID legislation, the states must comply by May 11, the third anniversary of the measure’s enactment, or obtain a waiver from the Department of Homeland Security.
Meeting the May 11 deadline is impossible because the regulations have been delayed so long, but Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, said Friday that his department would issue a waiver to states that promised to comply later.
He laid out a very long schedule, with the final deadline in December 2017, more than 16 years after the events that prompted the law, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Several states have voted not to comply. One is Washington, where the chairwoman of the Senate’s transportation committee, when asked what difference the new federal rules would make, said, “None.”
The Washington Legislature is to begin a special session on Monday but it will be brief, said Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, the chairwoman.
“It’s very unrealistic of the federal government to think that states that are not in session or in a short session can resolve this in a short time frame,” she said. “Our state has said we will not spend money on the Real ID unless they fund it, and I don’t see any money coming from the federal government.”
The article continues. Privacy rights groups and individuals have objected to Real ID for some time. It is a clear, obvious and appalling erosion of Constitutional rights.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is interviewed in this CBS Eye to Eye report.
Topics: Constitutional Rights |
January 15th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Just picked this up for Delaware Libertarian. Thanks.