Liberty Maven

Here at Liberty Maven we have posted more than a dozen articles on the ridiculous fiasco that is the Real ID Act.  It is wrong on so many levels (which have been discussed previously, so I won’t rehash those now).  Eleven states have refused to comply.

Now that Obama has taken the throne, they seem to be backing off REAL ID.  Sort of.  The results aren’t pleasing.  Instead of having our Constitutional Lawyer President denounce the clear illegality of REAL ID, the whole mess is simply going to be renamed in typical government style, with most of the heinous unconstitutional provisions kept intact.

Terrific.

They’re attempting to soften it somewhat, but for me the only true solution is to trash the whole kit and caboodle.  The Washington Post reports:

“The department’s goal is to fix, not repeal” Real ID, allowing all jurisdictions to comply by year’s end, said a DHS official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before a formal announcement.

“If the law cannot be implemented, it is hard to claim that it increases security,” said David Quam, lobbyist for the NGA.

The new plan keeps elements of Real ID, such as requiring a digital photograph, signature and machine-readable features such as a bar code. States also will still need to verify applicants’ identities and legal status by checking federal immigration, Social Security and State Department databases.

But it eliminates demands for new databases — linked through a national data hub — that would allow all states to store and cross-check such information, and a requirement that motor vehicle departments verify birth certificates with originating agencies, a bid to fight identity theft.

Instead, it adds stronger privacy controls and limits such development to a pilot program in Mississippi. DHS would have nine months to write new regulations, and states would have five years to reissue all licenses, with completion expected in 2016.

Supporters saw a slimmer measure as better than nothing. But critics said the changes gut the law, weakening tools to fight fraud and learn whether bad drivers, drug runners or counterfeiters have licenses in more than one state.

God help us.