National ID Card opposition from Libertarians

Opposition grows to the REAL ID driver’s license

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania - For Immediate Release - February 5, 2007

For more information contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) or Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org

Harrisburg, PA - The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) applauds Maine's state legislature for its overwhelming rejection of the REAL ID. Their legislature cited the grave threat to individual liberty, the increased risk of identity theft and the enormous cost of this unfunded mandate. Eleven other states are considering similar bills. The LPPa urges Pennsylvania's legislature to do the same.

The REAL ID, passed by Congress in 2005 as an amendment to an appropriations bill, forces the states to standardize their driver licenses converting them into "smart cards" capable of linking to government and private databases. In theory, this connectivity permits a drivers license card to also function as: credit, debit, and banking cards; health, life, auto and property insurance cards; membership, admission and rental cards for private uses; and other applications still being devised.

The danger is that a distant computer or bureaucrat can disable the ID portion of your card and none of the functions will work. LPPa Media Relations Chair, Doug Leard, explained, "When the NICS [National InstaCheck System] system crashed, no one could be validated for a gun purchase. A computer error suspended the Second Amendment for gun purchasers. With the REAL ID system, a computer problem or government bureaucrat’s decision can shut down the day to day lives for millions of people. The Bill of Rights becomes just a list of suspendable privileges at the mercy of computer reliability and government bureaucrats."

The $12 billion dollar estimated cost of the REAL ID unfunded mandate will be passed to the states and then to the taxpayers via increased Department of Motor Vehicle fees, tolls and/or taxes.

Michael Robertson, LPPa Chair, added, "We urge the Pennsylvania legislature to adopt a resolution declining to comply with the REAL ID provisions and to call upon the Congress to repeal this mandate. The mandated concentration of personal information in the hands of a few poses a grave threat to individual liberty and should be viewed as unacceptable in any free society. Pennsylvanians should contact their state and federal elected officials with this message."

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, 3915 Union Deposit Road #223, Harrisburg, PA 17109
www.lppa.org, 1-800-R-RIGHTS, info@lppa.org

More.

Kansas City Star | 02/05/2007 | States rally against a national license States rally against a national license - Legislatures resist a federal effort that would standardize the driver’s ID and link databases.

WASHINGTON | A revolt against a national driver’s license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.