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I Don't Want a National ID Card System
by James Glaser June 13, 2007 According to a web site called Computerworld.com, in an article written by Marc L. Songini, "New Hampshire is poised to become the latest of a handful of states to enact a law banning implementation of the federal national identification act." This act was passed by Congress back in 2005, and has a compliance date of May, 2008. According to Songini, "About a dozen states, including Maine, Hawaii, and Idaho, have so far passed legislation opposing the federal law." According to the this new federal law, everyone would need to have a drivers licenses or other identification card that included a digital photograph and a bar code that could be read with an electric scanner. Anybody who wanted to enter a federal building or fly on a commercial airline would need one. As it is heard in so many old movies about Nazi Germany, we may start to hear that old refrain, "May I See Your papers Please?" The New Hampshire bill called the ID Act, "contrary and repugnant to the state of New Hampshire and the US Constitution." The State Senate voted 24-0, and their House of Representatives passed the law with a vote of 268-8. Governor John Lynch plans to sign the bill. His spokesman said New Hampshire will have to forfeit a $3 million federal grant that was to be used to implement the ID Act. He said, "The $3 million bribe was tempting," but the state projected that imposing the ID would cost as much as $10 million. I think it is great that the people of New Hampshire have elected people with enough guts to stand up to our federal government and put their citizens' privacy first. So many times, while getting ready for work I have to make sure I have my list of things to do: a good shirt, so if I need to go to a meeting I won't be covered in saw dust, my thermos of coffee, and pockets full of miscellaneous stuff, but if I forget any of these, I still can get by and have a good day at work. I don't want to have to worry if I have my ID Card or not. I don't want to have to have a piece of paper to prove who I am. This whole ID Act is a form of control. Now you might need one to board a plane or enter a federal building, but tomorrow you might need one to buy anything. It might turn out to be a way of getting rid of cash money. Those bar codes could record your every purchase, and like a debit card, the government would take the money out of your account. Then they would know everything we do. I think that is the whole reason Washington wants these National ID Cards in the first place. |
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