Comments on: Congress to Require Background Check for Driver’s Licenses

By: Don Singleton

Don Singleton — Tue, 03 May 2005 18:38:02 +0000

Driver's License
I favor this, and I would be happy to see it become a national id card that had biometrics on it, but did not allow citizens to be tracked, but was impossible to forge, and was required to vote. I also favor visitors getting a card that showed they w...

By: Scott Dillard

Scott Dillard — Tue, 03 May 2005 15:26:16 +0000

I fully support Real ID. Where I work, in the Big City Welfare Office, we are required under the Motor Voter law, to offer voter registration to everyone applying for or renewing eligibility for welfare. Our workers are FORBIDDED to differentiate between citizens, resident aliens, and illegals, even when the illegals self-declare. How's that for insane? You can thank Bill Clinton for this.

By: RE Gardner

RE Gardner — Tue, 03 May 2005 14:10:03 +0000

A previous iteration (perhaps this one) would make drivers' licenses from states that did not submit to the Fed requirement ineligable as picture ID for boarding commercial aircraft. In this way, they can apply the Commerce Clause. Can you imagine the outcry in say, Oregon, if their DL's were no longer accepted at the airport (Oregon DLs today would not meet the requirements)?

A couple of weeks ago a friend changed his DL from Maryland to Virginia. In addition to his MD license, Virginia required him to provide another document such as his Birth Certificate (or another from a list of about 30 other documents, such as a pilot's license).

By: McGehee

McGehee — Tue, 03 May 2005 12:58:57 +0000

Itâs all interstate commerce. Yes, unfortunately it is. Even if all you're doing is selling apples off your tree to your next-door neighbor, it's "interstate commerce" because somebody somewhere is selling apples across state lines. As for my previous comment, the update wasn't displaying when I submitted it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Tue, 03 May 2005 12:55:47 +0000

It's stunning to me that states aren't already doing this, since a driver's license is a de facto "national" ID now. Maybe the reason is because "de facto" is not the same as de jure?

By: PoliBlog: Politics is the Master Science

PoliBlog: Politics is the Master Science — Tue, 03 May 2005 12:53:13 +0000

TSA Redux?
Via the NYT: Congress May Require Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's LicenseUnder the rules being considered, before granting a driver's license, a state would have to require proof of citizenship or legal presence, proof of an address and proof of a...

By: Brian J.

Brian J. — Tue, 03 May 2005 12:32:04 +0000

Interstate commerce. It's all interstate commerce.

By: Jack Tanner

Jack Tanner — Tue, 03 May 2005 11:51:33 +0000

Explain how Congress has the right or enforcement capacity to regulate issuance of state licenses?