Big Brother Will Be Watching Us!

I have been trying to get my friend and her family to get their passport since March because we will be traveling together next month on a friend and family cruise to the Bahamas www.yourimanitravel.com. Anyway, we will probably be ok because my son was able to get his passport back within 13 days. Another option to the passport will be a REAL ID. Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver’s licenses as proposed by The Homeland Security Department. The REAL ID Act is scheduled to be phased in by 2011, when federal authorities hope that all will be in compliance. Right now there are 17 states that have indicated that the measures are too costly, and the great state of Tennessee (my state) is one of those 17. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposed to the measure, because they feel that information will be shared among government agencies and that this would amount to “the first-ever national identity card system, which would irreparably damage the fabric of American life.”
Why will we need a REAL ID?
The hi-jacker pilot who flew into the Pentagon on 9/11 had 4 drivers’ licenses and ID cards from 3 states. The REAL ID is supposed to ensure that there is “one driver, one license. If driver’s licenses are to be used for identification, then the proposed layers of security measures would make it less likely for them to be counterfeited or tampered with.”
By 2014, people under 50 will have to present a REAL ID compliant driver’s license to board a plane or enter a federal building. The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and the risk of someone in this age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 will have to have a REAL ID compliant driver’s license to board a plane. How will residents of states like Tennessee be affected if the state chooses to be non compliant? Residents of such states will have to use a passport for air travel within the United States.
I don’t know about you but I don’t want my ability to travel within the States to be compromised. I have my passport ready and will lobby officials in my state to comply with the new Homeland Security guidelines.