National ID Cards Mandated in the US, If You're Under 50

charleste writes "CNN is reporting that the US Homeland Security Department has mandated Real ID for drivers licenses. According to the article, this will not include a 'chip', but a list of options by state. Despite legislation passed in various states and objections by groups such as ACLU, this appears to be a done deal. Without one of the new IDs you will be unable to board a plane after 2014 if you are under 50."

Comments

Headline/summary is slightly misleading

[ravenspear]

Under 50 is not a permanent exemption. After 2017, those over 50 will have to have a Real ID license as well. The additional 3 years for them was added so the states would have more time to issue everyone new licenses.

Regardless, if we don't want this then the states need to be firm in their opposition to it.

If every state (or nearly every one) opposes it, the DHS can't really do anything, unless they want to be the agent of the economy's collapse because no businesspeople can travel. If enough states do not oppose it strongly, then the ones who do will be forced to capitulate eventually, similar to the 21 drinking age.

Re:sigh

[avandesande]

Here is the rest of the quote for those who care:

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

    -- C.S. Lewis

Re:Papers please

[Andy Dodd]

"I don't recall reading that any of the 9/11 hijackers used fake IDs to get onto the airplanes. They obtained them quite legally. Perhaps we should be looking into reforming who can obtain a drivers license, rather then reforming the drivers license itself."

Based on reading the article, it looks like most of the changes being made are not changes to the license itself, but to the process of obtaining them.

It appears to me that this is not a "federal ID", but consists of the following:
1) Requirements levied on the process of granting a person a drivers' license, in terms of verifying that that person is who they say they are.
2) Requirements levied on the anti-counterfeiting features of that license.

TFA states that a number of states already issue licenses that meet all of these requirements. For example, California residents will apparently not notice any difference except the point at which their picture is taken during the process of obtaining a license. From the looks of it, this will also not affect me, as my state (New York) already implements all of the process and anti-counterfeiting requirements levied here.