Back in 2005, Congress passed the “Real ID” Act. Then it was passed by the Senate 99-0. As you know, it came off the heels of the country’s response to what we were going to do to defend against terrorism. However, these are the following reasons why it was bad legislation. Please read these explanations and have the integrity to do something to repeal this law.
1.) All of the terrorist hijackers who boarded planes that fateful day on 9/11 had passports and legal documents to enter this nation. That blows the whole premise of why the Real ID act was shoved our throats to begin with. Henceforth,
It was a faulty premise. Therefore it would be an erroneous conclusion to allow this to go forward.
2.) The language in the actual bill gives a blank check to the secretary saying, “the secretary shall determine the purpose for which the data may be used.” In other words, this is giving way too much power to the federal government. Alas, the same thing was said regarding social security numbers when the government told us that they would only be required concerning business with the SSA.
3.) This will cause extreme chaos in DMVs around the country and insurmountable difficulty for those less fortunate enough to have personal transportation.
4.) This is a violation of article four section 2 of the Constitution. It will unduly restrict our freedom to move from state to state as outlined in our Constitution.
5.) This is a violation of our fourth amendment right, “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” In other words, there is stuff (that without probable cause of a crime) the government doesn’t need to know about. And this bill will extort people to fork over sensitive information that not only will be open to hacking, but will in effect create two classes of citizens: Those who can pay to play and those who cannot. It’s not right.
In conclusion, the 10th amendment gives the states the right to sue the federal government, and I for one, trust that this will happen if this bill isn’t repealed.
The good news is you have varying organizations from both sides of the aisle weighing in on this matter saying they will take action to sue if need be. (Home School Legal Defense Fund, People For the American Way, and the ACLU)
Sir, you must have the same courage as these and realize this is winnable. Please don’t allow the people of this nation to suffer from their constitutional rights being violated. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. God bless!
