North Country Gazette



Applauds Passage of Idaho Bill Opposing Real ID

Posted on Monday, 7 of April , 2008 at 7:06 pm

Rep. Jim Guest, Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives from District 5, founder of L.A.R.I. (Legislators Against Real ID) and The Committee for America’s Freedom, seeks to ensure that legislation is passed in every state to repeal the Real ID. The Real ID Act of 2005 is a federal law which imposes certain security, authentication and issuance procedures standards for the state driver’s licenses and state ID cards, in order for them to be accepted by the federal government for “official purposes”, as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Currently, the Secretary of Homeland Security has defined “official purposes” as presenting state driver’s licenses and id cards for boarding commercially operated airline flights, entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants.

Guest is applauding the Idaho Legislature which has passed House Bill 606 which relates to the implementation of the federal Real ID Act and directs the Idaho Transportation Board and the Idaho Transportation Department not to implement the provisions of Act and to provide for the security of driver’s licenses and identification cards. http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/H0606.html

In a letter to the editor of The North Country Gazette, Guest wrote:

“It is becoming rare to fine elected officials who have the courage and conviction to fight and work for the rights and freedoms for all their citizens. Two of these individuals are Idaho Rep. Phil Hart and Rep. Liz Chavez who worked together on HB 606, to stop our federal counter parts from removing even more of our constitutional guarantees. Both representatives are to be commended for their leadership in getting House Bill 606 passed in the Idaho legislature.  The bill is currently awaiting the governor’s signature and I would invite all the citizens of Idaho to call their governor and have him sign HB 606 into law.

“When signed by the governor Idaho will join seven other states that have totally rejected the Real ID Act. As the founder of Legislators Against Real ID (LARI), a coalition of legislators around the country working to stop the Real ID Act, I applaud Idaho’s Legislative body for their courage and wisdom in protecting their citizens.  The residents of Idaho can be proud that they have leaders who believe our freedom and privacy are worth fighting for. We must be ever vigilant against terrorism but this is not the answer.  “Thank you Rep. Hart and the Idaho General Assembly”

For more information about L.A.R.I. and to find out where your state stands in the implementation and how you can become involved, see www.legislatorsagainstrealid.com 4-07-08

Category: Consumers, Courts, Government, Politics

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