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Montana Says No to Real ID, Passes Law to Deny It

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the good-lines-in-the-sand dept.

SoCalChris writes "Montana's governor signed a bill yesterday in defiance of the Real ID Act. House Bill 287 [PDF] requires the Montana Motor Vehicle Division to not implement the provisions of the Real ID Act, and to report to the governor any attempts by any agent or agency of the Department of Homeland Security to attempt to implement the bill. Montana is the first state to implement such a law."

13 of 518 comments (clear)

  1. I'm moving there by drgonzo59 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hope they need Python or Java developers. Perhaps black bears could use some custom software to optimize their search for berries...

    1. Re:I'm moving there by pschmied · · Score: 4, Funny

      As a Montanan who has since moved down south... of the equator to New Zealand, I can say that the job market probably isn't what you want. There are very few employers.

      That said, Montana's a beautiful place. Oh, and the Kettlehouse (MT brew) brews the best beer in the world.

      We used to joke about people moving to Montana to pay the scenery tax. Short answer, you're probably not going to get rich there.

      I remember an old "PR" campain in MT to discourage Californians from moving in:

      "Montana Sucks. Now go home and tell your friends."

      --
      . Penguins Surely Ca
    2. Re:I'm moving there by shaitand · · Score: 4, Funny

      'Short answer, you're probably not going to get rich there.'

      No kidding, I took a train from Chicago to Portland that went across Montana lengthwise. You could tell you had entered Montana when you couldn't see anything, not even on the horizon. You could tell when you left Montana because you saw things again.

      Hell I don't even remember any towns. I saw a couple dead trees but thats about it.

  2. This is historic! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is the first time in Montana history that our illustrious MVD had to be ordered NOT to perform something work related.

  3. If this week has taught us anything... by sczimme · · Score: 5, Funny


    Perhaps black bears could use some custom software to optimize their search for berries...

    If this week has taught us anything, it's that one should always have a backup plan for black-bear-ies.

    --
    I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
  4. Freedom by QuickFox · · Score: 4, Funny
    FTA:

    [...] said Schweitzer, a Democrat. "This is still a free country and there are no freer people than the people that we have in Montana." Well, that's precisely the problem! That's exactly the problem that we're solving here.

    No one hates your freedom like we do... Uh, oops, I mean, like the terrorists do. Everybody knows it's the terrorists who hate your freedom. And of course only the terrorists can take your freedom away... Uh, um, no, not exactly, they can't... In fact only we can take your freedom away... er... You shouldn't question these things... Now be a good patriot and lie down and let us step on you for your protection.
    --
    Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
    1. Re:Freedom by Repton · · Score: 2, Funny

      You almost had it.

      You see, the terrorists are seeking to steal Americans' freedom, because they have none of their own. In order to prevent this, the US Government is taking all your freedom and locking it away, so that the terrorists can't get to it. Currently you've still got lots of freedoms lying around in the open, but the government is even now working to lock down those too. Pretty soon America won't have any freedom at all, and the terrorists will have to give up and find another free country to terrorise.

      --
      Repton.
      They say that only an experienced wizard can do the tengu shuffle.
  5. In other news ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news .. the entire state of Montana has been declared an "Enemy Combatant". Plans are under way to use the national guard to secure and build GitmoII around the entire state.

  6. Re:One of the last great bastions of Freedom in US by Glowing+Fish · · Score: 2, Funny

    It isn't always too cold. Sometimes it is too hot.

    --
    Hopefully I didn't put any [] around my words.
  7. Re:Lesson for the world by Knuckles · · Score: 4, Funny

    I get up in the morning, feed my child, take a shower, go to work, go home, do my wife, go to bed. The same as I did before the government took away all my rights. Please tell me what I'm missing

    A life.

    --
    "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
  8. Montana is Big Balls Country by Purity+Of+Essence · · Score: 1, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new floss plucking pygmy pony overlords. Too bad it won't last.

    --
    +0 Meh
  9. Re:About Time by lothar97 · · Score: 2, Funny

    What do all o fthe [sic] following have in common:

    New Hampshire
    Arizona
    France
    Iowa
    Iran

    The all contain the letter "a" and are populated by weirdos?

    --

  10. License by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey, there's an easy answer for that one. Put an RFID tag into every license plate (or into the tags, since those need to be replaced all the time anyway). Then put RFID scanners into every traffic light, every intersection, periodically in streetlights, etc. Anytime a car passes without a valid RFID-tagged license plate, the scanner automically signals the nearest police car, photographs the car, activates the vehicles "disable" code, detonates the land mines, deploys the hunter-killer bot, or whatever else the state feels is an appropriate response. And if the vehicle DOES have a valid RFID tag, then it's a simple matter to verify whether or not the owner has an approved license. It doesn't help much if the driver of the vehicle isn't the owner, but that's what the RFID tags that were jammed into everyone's skulls were for. Seriously though -- RFID license plates and traffic light camera/RFID-scanner set-ups are basically a foregone conclusion at this point. They're inevitable.