- Sep 26, 2000
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http://www.reformer.com/region/ci_3752298
N.H. leads rebellion against new licenses
CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire has suddenly become a battleground in the fight over privacy rights versus homeland security, with state legislators voting against strict new federal standards for issuing driver's licenses.
At issue is the federal Real ID Act, which is intended to keep terrorists from getting fake IDs. It requires states by 2008 to verify documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and passports when people get driver's licenses. State databases with driver information and photos will also be linked.
Last month, the Republican-controlled New Hampshire House overwhelmingly voted to bar the state from participating in the program. A vote in the GOP-dominated Senate is expected in two weeks. Democratic Gov. John Lynch remains undecided.
The move has won backing from the American Civil Liberties Union as well as conservative privacy advocates and Christian fundamentalists.
Republican state Rep. Neal Kurk, author of the bill against Real ID, gave a stirring speech during the debate.
"I don't believe the people of New Hampshire elected us to help the federal government create a national identification card," Kurk told the House. "We care more for our liberties than to meekly hand over to the federal government the potential to ennumerate, track, identify and eventually control."
"I think New Hampshire will set the dominoes falling in the states," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the Technology and Liberty Program of the ACLU, who testified for Kurk's bill at a recent Senate hearing alongside a member of the conservative Cato Institute. "Who's going to say, 'The emperor has no clothes?' New Hampshire's in a good position to do that."
Legislation in other states would condemn Real ID, but Kurk's bill is the toughest legislation making real progress anywhere, Steinhardt said.
A weekend rally featuring Real ID opponents in Nazi uniforms attracted lawmakers from both parties, and worried members of Congress dispatched a staff member from the House Judiciary Committee to meet one-on-one with state senators in advance of a committee vote Wednesday.
Supporters of Real ID say blocking it will isolate New Hampshire, requiring residents to get a passport if they want to board an airplane or enter a federal building.
It's the End of Days! The ACLU and Conservatives and Christian Fundamentalists working together!!!
New Hampshire has a pair. A BIG pair.
N.H. leads rebellion against new licenses
CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire has suddenly become a battleground in the fight over privacy rights versus homeland security, with state legislators voting against strict new federal standards for issuing driver's licenses.
At issue is the federal Real ID Act, which is intended to keep terrorists from getting fake IDs. It requires states by 2008 to verify documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and passports when people get driver's licenses. State databases with driver information and photos will also be linked.
Last month, the Republican-controlled New Hampshire House overwhelmingly voted to bar the state from participating in the program. A vote in the GOP-dominated Senate is expected in two weeks. Democratic Gov. John Lynch remains undecided.
The move has won backing from the American Civil Liberties Union as well as conservative privacy advocates and Christian fundamentalists.
Republican state Rep. Neal Kurk, author of the bill against Real ID, gave a stirring speech during the debate.
"I don't believe the people of New Hampshire elected us to help the federal government create a national identification card," Kurk told the House. "We care more for our liberties than to meekly hand over to the federal government the potential to ennumerate, track, identify and eventually control."
"I think New Hampshire will set the dominoes falling in the states," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the Technology and Liberty Program of the ACLU, who testified for Kurk's bill at a recent Senate hearing alongside a member of the conservative Cato Institute. "Who's going to say, 'The emperor has no clothes?' New Hampshire's in a good position to do that."
Legislation in other states would condemn Real ID, but Kurk's bill is the toughest legislation making real progress anywhere, Steinhardt said.
A weekend rally featuring Real ID opponents in Nazi uniforms attracted lawmakers from both parties, and worried members of Congress dispatched a staff member from the House Judiciary Committee to meet one-on-one with state senators in advance of a committee vote Wednesday.
Supporters of Real ID say blocking it will isolate New Hampshire, requiring residents to get a passport if they want to board an airplane or enter a federal building.
It's the End of Days! The ACLU and Conservatives and Christian Fundamentalists working together!!!
New Hampshire has a pair. A BIG pair.
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