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Civil Rights Group Calls for Creation of a National ID Card

posted by chromas on Monday January 21 2019, @06:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the identification-politics dept.

takyon writes:

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.

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  • (Score: 2) by digitalaudiorock on Tuesday January 22 2019, @02:55AM (3 children)

    by digitalaudiorock (688) on Tuesday January 22 2019, @02:55AM (#789940) Journal

    I stand corrected on that. As it turns out, here (NJ) apparently you can get a NJ state id if you want one, but no, I've never met anyone who has one that I'm aware of...probably because there's very little need for one...you sure don't need one to fucking vote that's for sure. Anyone who thinks one should be required to vote in order to solve a problem that doesn't exist is seriously misguided or has ulterior motives.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @05:14AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @05:14AM (#789968)

    It explains why on the site:

    Having some form of photo ID is critical in our world today; you need to be able to prove you are who you say you are in many situations. You'll need a picture ID to board an airplane, get a job, set up bank accounts, and in order to make certain purchases.

    https://www.dmv.org/id-cards.php [dmv.org]

    Not everyone drives, especially if they live in the city.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @11:54AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @11:54AM (#790033)

      You'll need a picture ID to board an airplane

      Yay for totally artificial, draconian restrictions created by government thugs. You should be able to pay cash and fly anonymously, but I guess most people in the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' and 'give me liberty or give me death' country would rather be groped and humiliated at airports in the name of security. Treacherous cowards, all of them.

      • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Tuesday January 22 2019, @07:05PM

        by Muad'Dave (1413) on Tuesday January 22 2019, @07:05PM (#790215)

        > groped and humiliated at airports in the name of security

        Being groped and remaining anonymous are orthogonal. You can be known and groped, unknown and groped, known and ungroped, and unknown and ungroped.