ACTION ITEM
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, attached to an unrelated war spending bill. It mandated states to include uniform standards in their drivers licenses and state ID’s.
DownsizeDC.org, many other privacy advocates, and dozens of states resisted. We were successful for a long time! The Department of Homeland Security kept pushing back deadlines to force states into compliance.
But this year, the DHS has quietly been imposing deadlines on the non-compliant states and territories.
This is a grave threat to your right to travel, which is why I told Congress to repeal REAL ID using DownsizeDC.org's campaign.
The hardwired message says simply…
Don't try to “fix” the REAL ID Act. Simply repeal it.
You may borrow from or copy these sample comments…
I DO NOT CONSENT to DHS enforcement of REAL ID that started this year. (http://bit.ly/1lCNxKu)
People with drivers licenses from non-compliant states will be…
* denied access to federal facilities in a few months
* denied entry on commercial aircraft as soon as 2016!
Let me ask…
* Can you cite your Constitutional authority to regulate state ID cards or impose a national ID system?
* Where is your MORAL authority to deny any American the right to travel?
Keep in mind that THIRTY-FIVE states and territories are NOT in compliance with the REAL ID Act.
There's good reason for this. REAL ID is an unconstitutional, unfunded mandate on the states.
Worse, it's a threat to individuals…
* Many elderly or poor persons, divorced women, and others have difficulty finding all the required documents to “prove” their identity when renewing their license or ID.
* My personal information will be recorded in a federal database, making it MORE vulnerable to hacking and theft.
* REAL ID will eventually contain biometric and tracking technology — another way for the feds to spy on me.
And, REAL ID “solves” non-existent terrorism and immigration problems…
* It would NOT have prevented 9/11 or the Boston bombings
* The Constitution gives you NO AUTHORITY to control human migration or to discriminate against persons
National ID requirements like REAL ID are NOT an act of government. They are an act of tyranny.
REPEAL REAL ID!
–END OF LETTER–
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Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.