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National ID Law Takes Effect In 2014

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national ID real ID actState drivers’ licenses are slowly turning into national ID cards by a little known federal law called the REAL ID Act.

The idea behind the law is to make it easier for law enforcement and security personnel to identify individuals through their driver’s licenses and state-issued identification cards, and the law has even led some states to ban smiling for license pictures, so as not to throw off computer facial recognition software.

Privacy groups, as well as those opposed to a growing federal government, have expressed significant concern.

The REAL ID Act created a set of standards for drivers’ licenses and ID cards that the states must meet by 2014, although currently only 19 states have met the criteria. The states were originally supposed to meet the criteria by 2008 but state governments successfully lobbied to get the deadline extended at least twice.

Under the original plan, drivers’ licenses were to be used as ID for a wide variety of purposes, such as being allowed onto airplanes. But many states are not going along, even though a REAL ID will be required to board an airplane [1] in 2016 – and to enter a federal building by October 2014.

What the Real Act ID does

The practical effect of the REAL ID Act [2] is to create a set of standards that state-issued ID cards and drivers’ licenses must meet. The standards will be enforced by the Department of Homeland Security.

They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor so that we could be free! [3]

Under the Act a driver’s license or ID Card will have to meet 39 standards, including:

The law also requires individuals to present the following documents when they apply for a driver’s license:

States will have to verify a person’s identity and check to see if he or she does not have another driver’s license in his or her name.

Many states have objected to the IDs because of the cost. The state of Oregon would need to spend $16.3 million to comply with the REAL ID Act [6].

The Concerns about the REAL ID Act

A number of groups, including civil libertarians, immigrants’ rights activists and fiscal conservatives, have voiced strong objections to the REAL ID Act.

The major objections to the REAL Act include:

The following states are in compliance with the REAL ID ACT: Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.

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