| Libertarian Party of NY -- Issues -- No National ID! |
How to Fight REAL ID
Declan McCullough publishes Politech, which has been chronicaling the REAL ID act and its implementation planning.
House Approves REAL ID Act |
REAL ID Act Rebellion |
Bush Loves REAL ID Act
On August 9, 2005, he published a note from a Virginian, suggesting ways to convince your state that compliance is too costly for what it gets them.
Ways to Fight the REAL ID Act
2007-2008 U.S. Border Restrictions Outlined
As of 2007, those entering our North American neighbors by plane or boat will need a passport. The landroutes into Canada and Mexico will remain open until 2008 to those with just drivers' licenses. For what happens after that, see our January 2006 posting with details about the new PASS plan and other Border Patrol plans.
National ID for flying?
Libertarian John Gilmore is testing the bounds the TSA is setting. That's not recommended for people who actually need to get somewhere on time!
January 2006 Update: John Gilmore loses in the 9th District Circuit Court...
"We hold that neither the identification policy nor its application to Gilmore violated Gilmore's constitutional rights, and therefore we deny the petition," Judge Richard Paez wrote. "The Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any particular form of transportation."
Other people had been discovering that it's possible to get on board a plane without ID if you submit to a much more thorough security screening. (The same kind of screening that some people get somewhat at random, designated by security code "SSSS" stamped on your ticket).
from the RISKS Journal, Vol 23, issue 50
Subject: U.S. air travel without government identification
The article in RISKS also describes a new Continental 'frequent flyer' ID program for those who want to avoid intense screening in exchange for biometric data. However, the incident with Ted Kennedy proves that it's tough dealing with bad data in security databases--even for a senator! That incident looks suspiciously like a hacking coup instead of the 'clerical error' it is attributed to. When we have the 'fast lane' for air travel, how much harder is it going to be to put people on THAT list who don't belong? Especially when their biometric data (stored as just a string of numbers, of course) is right there as "proof?"
There is pressure for all states to require a Soc Sec Number (SSN) for drivers licenses to make security processing easier, which is clearly against the original purpose for the SSN.
National ID Card Denounced by Ron Paul
Jan 6, 2003: Congressman Ron Paul today denounced the national ID card provisions contained in the intelligence bill being voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives, while urging his colleagues to reject the bill and its new layers of needless bureaucracy.
"National ID cards are not proper in a free society," Paul stated. "This is America, not Soviet Russia. The federal government should never be allowed to demand papers from American citizens, and it certainly has no constitutional authority to do so." more info
NYS DMV requires SSN for Drivers Licenses?
Well, actually they're saying it is possible that Bob Armstrong's license will be suspended. (Emphasis added.) And the signs at the DMV say it's not necessary for plain (non-suspended nor lapsed) renewals. It turns out, if they don't require you to provide the SSN for a drivers license transaction at the DMV, they still have yours on record. Bonnie Scott got the scoop from the Clinton County DMV manager (who has an impressive collection of all states license plates). It's been required since 1995 in all DMV computer records, and the local DMV operators have the ability to override requiring it for an individual transaction, but cannot override a block on transactions (e.g., renewals) if the SSN isn't in the system: only the state DMV administrators can do that.
Here is the letter that was sent to Bob Armstrong about his license.
Where do we start? DMVs are a great place to petition. Our petitioning period is early July until mid-August (check here each year for updates). Take along the letter, show it to people as you're petitioning, as they sit and wait in the DMV, and let them know that the Libertarian Party is the one to stand up to it for them. "Sign the petition, please, so our candidates can get on the ballot? Thank you!"
Funny, this last happened about four years ago...
New York Privacy Activist Denied Drivers License
For release June 27th, 1999—The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles would not renew Matt Seigel's drivers license last December because he refused to provide his Social Security Number on their form. Matt believes it to be illegal for them to require it, and wants to keep his privacy. The DMV are dragging their feet in his case--which is keeping him off the road.
Any public agency is required by the 1974 Privacy Act to disclose their legal basis for requesting your Social Security Number, but Matt has now been waiting over six months to hear what the DMV's justification is. He wonders if Ron Paul's proposed Privacy Protection Act will help him get his license back, and prevent others from going through what he has had to.
"The Social Security Number was created to administer the social security system, and nothing else."Background: In 1974, Congress passed a Privacy Act which was supposed to help individuals keep their Social Security Number private. It forbade government agencies from collecting Social Security Numbers, unless that agency had been doing so before January 1, 1975 to verify the identity of an individual.
Relevant text from the 1974 Privacy Act (will open in new window)
In 1996, though, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act was passed. For the first time, it started setting up a system where Social Security Numbers were to be used outside of the need to collect Social Security payments: now, their use was supposed to be extended just for immigration control and making sure that folks kept up with their child payments. It seemed harmless enough, and it passed.
When it passed, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act only required Social Security Numbers for commercial drivers licenses (affecting about 10 million Americans), but one year later, Congress was tacking an amendment onto the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (H.R.2015) that removed the word "commercial" from this bill that was now Public Law 104-193 (Title 42, U.S.C. 666). In other words, this amendment in the budget bill struck one word from the law and thereby added the 170 million non-commercial drivers in the United States to the list of people now required to provide an "identifying number," when requesting a license, and--with a change of 21 words--it now removes the right for states to substitute another unique number for the SSN. (Louisiana is challenging this statute... see below.)
More information about the gradual distortion of U.S.C. Sec. 666
Another interpretation of the Immigration Control Act and U.S.C. Sec. 666
In 1999: On June 24th, Ron Paul (R-TX), supported by our own Maurice Hinchy (D-NY) and other representatives, introduced the Privacy Protection Act of 1999. The Libertarian Party of New York (the LPNY) supports this act fully, because it will repeal the sections of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act that set the national ID in place.
Locally, Matt Seigel is willing to carry his his case forward, and Libertarian lawyer Dan Conti has agreed to represent him in a lawsuit against the New York State DMV. They have filed a an "Article 78" which is a formal request for an answer from the state. With other privacy advocates, the Libertarian Party hopes to make a stand against U.S.C. Sec. 666, an intrusion into our basic human right for privacy.
More about the Taxpayer Relief Act
of 1997
Chronicles 21:1-14, which some Christians believe prohibit them from obtaining SSNs
Revelations 13:15-17, which describes a mark "so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark"
"There is no satisfactory condition under which Social Security Numbers may be required as a condition for travel."Scott McDonald, a grass-roots privacy activist
The more companies and government agencies that index your personal info by Social Security Number, the easier it is in this new information age for others to find out about you, and possibly steal your identity or harm your credit rating. When your photo, height, weight, eye and hair color are all conveniently indexed by Social Security Number, and available to any person who can get a job at the DMV, your privacy is invaded a hundredfold more than before. Eventually, every police department in the nation will be able to reference your photo and arrest record as easily as the phone company can call up your bill when you call them. And every computer cracker will have their choice of places to go to access your private info, even more so than today.
Unless action is taken now, the checkout clerk will scan and maybe even see your Social Security Number every time you buy a sixpack or a bottle of wine! (Regulations will nearly ensure that states print your SSN right on your license to meet with the Federal Guidelines for the National ID. Perhaps it will be barcoded.)
Help us draw attention to this issue! Urge Congress to Defang the Matrix (LINK UPDATED 9/28/04)
(The ACLU also outline more details of
the database of information that will be created as a result.)
Then, write a letter to the editor. Let them know that you're not just a number.
What type of legislation would we like to see?
Good: In 1998, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill deliberately withheld funding for the provisioning of the National ID system
Better:
Louisiana bans DMV from Requiring a SSN, but concerns remain over the provisions in the Immigration Act
Best: Ron Paul's Privacy Protection Act of 1999 (press release)
More Info:
Grassroots Granny and the Washington State Citizens Against National ID another Privacy Activist who opposes a National ID (LINK UPDATED 9/28/04)
Privacy Notice to be posted in places of employment
6/27/99: Washington Post article on the personal data clearinghouse
To contact the LPNY for follow-up on this story:
Webmaster for the LPNY
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