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Civil rights group marks MLK Day with call for 'Trump card' national ID
A prominent civil rights group is marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day by pressing President Trump to honor his promise to create a national photo ID card for citizens.
Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the iconic civil rights leader and a co-chairmen of the Drum Major Institute, met with Trump two years ago on MLK Day. During that meeting, the then president-elect endorsed the idea of a national photo ID. This year, the group is calling on Trump to follow through.
William Wachtel, co-founder of the Drum Major Institute, said the group sees the issue as critical to ensuring King's work to remove barriers to voting.
[...] The idea has invited controversy in the past, in particular over privacy concerns. In 2013, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a measure, the Protect Our Privacy Act, attached to a Senate immigration bill. The Paul amendment sought to prevent the creation of a national ID card, citing worries that it would make it easier for the government to track people. Wachtel sought to ease concerns about such an ID, saying it would not be mandatory and would only be an option for those who sought it.
(Score: 2) by DutchUncle on Monday January 21 2019, @07:16PM (7 children)
There already IS a national ID, called a "passport", which SUPERSEDES state ID like a driver license. It might be convenient to have a passport-level-of-trust ID that was good EVERYWHERE in the country - ALL states, ALL purposes - and was also a wallet-sized card instead of a booklet. (Hint: Global Entry is such a card.) Since it is FEDERAL, it should be available at the same level of convenience as other FEDERAL access, like every single post office (where they take passport applications right now), and if it is going to be so important and so widespread, then maybe the certification of application materials (information and photo) must be supported at more levels; every single town hall, or even every justice of the peace (if they can certify a marriage, they can certify your documents, right?). One of the problems with state voter ID laws has been that the states simultaneously limit what constitutes a valid ID, and where people can get valid ID (including location, hours open, weekend access, etc.). If EVERYBODY is supposed to be able to get this ID, and it is made more conveniently available without fear or favor, then it becomes the counter to the exclusionary goals of insisting on presenting an ID.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @07:22PM
So like a wallet sized version of a passport? It exists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Passport_Card [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @07:31PM (3 children)
Which would beg the question: Why is it the Federal government's job to issue any kind of ID? (Hint: the first sentence here [wikipedia.org] might give the reason why they exist.) Maybe a Federal identification used for purposes other than international travel would be the next step along the lines of enabling fascism. (Kind of like the failed promise that a Social Security Number would ever be used as an identity number outside of the Social Security program.) Especially since one can right now pay to obtain a passport and use that if one needed to, as unnecessarily expensive as it is.
So, how about NO!!!!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @09:10PM (1 child)
No, it would not beg the question. [begthequestion.info] Phrasing your point incorrectly undercuts your effectiveness. Please avoid this error in the future. I beg of you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @04:11PM
Except that my actual question was prompted by the conclusive assumptions that the purpose of a Federal ID is to be usable everywhere and that it is the Federal government's job to issue an ID that is usable everywhere including intra-nationally instead of one primarily for international use. Neither assumption is correct. So my question was indeed begged by the parent's pre-assumed conclusions to disprove them, even though my dispute took the literal form of a question.
But I thank you for the review - it was indeed worthwhile.
Any questions? Begged or otherwise?
(Score: 3, Informative) by fyngyrz on Monday January 21 2019, @09:14PM
It prompts the question.
Check it out: "begs the question" [wikipedia.org]
--
Government: Designed to provide you with "service" and...
...the Media: Designed to provide you with Vaseline.
(Score: 4, Funny) by krishnoid on Monday January 21 2019, @10:11PM
Well, maybe not everywhere [youtube.com] ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @11:14PM
Passports currently don't have an address that can 1) serve as proof of residency for voting purposes, and 2) provide the government with a current address to send the SWAT team to at 4am.
If I move, I do not have to get my passport updated. I am required to update my state record. If I didn't drive, I could probably live with just a passport.