Montana Leads Fight Against REAL ID

Excerpted from the EFFector Vol. 21, No. 09 March 14, 2008 (note, this issue is not yet online - don't know why).

Real ID Rebellion Roundup

This week, Pedro Nava, a prominent California Assemblymember, introduced a non-binding resolution that asks California's members of Congress to oppose Real ID, the unfunded federal mandate to turn driver's licenses into national ID cards. It highlights the state's growing opposition to Real ID, as legislators and citizens begin to realize the astronomical cost and catastrophic privacy implications of participating in the federal program.

The California resolution comes hot on the heels of a widely-heard NPR interview with Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, who outlines his state's staunch opposition to the Real ID mandates. In the interview, he cites such concerns as state sovereignty and the absence of
systems to actually facilitate Real ID. Also in the interview, Gov. Schweitzer boldly announces that his state will call the federal government's "bluff" on the issue of air travel -- the Department of Homeland Security has threatened that on May 11th, states that have not embraced Real ID will find their licensees treated differently in regards to air travel and access to federal buildings.

Finally, Real ID opposition at the federal level features a budget amendment sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) that seeks to funnel money away from Real ID to be used to benefit veterans instead.

For California Assemblymember Pedro Nava's release calling for opposition to Real ID:
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a35/press/20080311AD35PR01.htm

For the NPR interview with Gov. Brian Schweitzer:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87991791

For this post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/03/real-id-rebellion-roundup