National ID Card and The 9/11 Bill

Shannon wants input on this issue -- I am particularly interested in Milewski's ideas.

What the GOA has to say:
http://www.gunowners.org/a100404.htm

The bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:h.r.10: (Thanks to Steve L.)

What Steve L had to say about it:

The bill mentioned does not seem to be as bad as it is advertised on the GOA site.



As far as the criminal history database goes, the bill contains plenty of restrictions on who is required to submit this information and who is authorized to obtain it.  The Attorney General is allowed some powers in gaining this data from industries that are critical to our nation's infrastructure but it is a distortion to say that it could be anyone/anywhere.  Of course it would not exactly be a secret that you would have your name checked when they take your fingerprints.



Also, the ID card is not being issued by the feds, it is still issued by the states.  They just want a certain minimal level of information and verification to go into each state's records.  Nothing about the ID cards will contain information we don't already have to reveal about ourselves already.



As far as the national airline database goes, that does bother me a little bit because it could delve into much more personal details although it doesn't really mention that fact in the bill itself.  It appears that its main function will be to create profiles of people that are using air transport to help identify terrorists and criminals.  However, it does offer the suspect the right to appeal his status and correct any wrong information in the system.  The capacity for abuse of this information is pretty high and they need to have some really strict controls on who can gain access to it.



The bill does seem to restrict the rights of foreigners to obtain asylum and reduces the judicial oversight of deportation cases in general.  That may be more fuel for the fire of the human rights groups but that is an issue that is too political anyway.



When identity theft is rising in volume every year, the bill seems to be helpful in providing security to our personal ID.  I don't want someone else walking around spending my money or implicating me in any of his crimes and this bill seems to be a good measure for reducing that possibility.



Stephen L.

The devil is in the details, but it is often illuminating to think of how different administrations would use such powers. Would you feel comfortable with Janet "Waco/Elian" Reno enforcing this bill? This same argument can be applied to the USAPATRIOT. Even though there have been many lies about it and virtually no civil rights violations from it, I expect that others may try to abuse it.