Battle Over National ID Moves To Senate

Battle over the National ID Card now moves to the Senate
— But not before Rep. Paul blasts the anti-gun bill on the House floor

—– “The U.S. House of Representatives passed a national ID bill last week that masqueraded as ‘immigration reform.’ … In reality, the bill is a Trojan horse. It pretends to offer desperately needed border control in order to con a credulous Congress into sacrificing more of our constitutionally protected liberty.” — Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) —–

 

Rep. Ron Paul got it right. H.R. 418 is not about immigration control as much as it is about citizen control.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 261-161 to send H.R. 418, the so-called “REAL ID Act of 2005,” over to the Senate. The bill federalizes the issuance of drivers’ licenses, an activity which until recently has always been a state function. Because no American will be able to fly, take a train or buy a gun from a dealer without a driver’s license that meets the federal standards in the bill, H.R. 418 has effectively created a National ID card.

The bill’s future in the Senate is uncertain at this time, although Rep. Paul’s office has told Gun Owners of America that House leaders are contemplating whether to attach H.R. 418 as an amendment to the tsunami relief bill.

Lambasting the bill on the floor of the House last week, Rep. Paul noted that the legislation gives authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand the required information that goes into drivers’ licenses, including “such biometric information as retina scans, fingerprints, DNA information, and even Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) radio tracking technology.”

Should this happen, it would mean that the federal government “would know where Americans are at all times of the day and night,” Paul said.

Moreover, H.R. 418 requires the U.S. government to share our personal information with Canada and Mexico. Paul was flabbergasted. “There are no limits on what happens to the database of sensitive information on Americans once it leaves the United States for Canada and Mexico — or perhaps other countries,” he said. Paul wondered if crooked Mexican officials would soon be able to sell thousands of identity files, including our Social Security numbers, to alien criminals.

Rep. Paul also informed his House colleagues about the dangers this bill poses to gun owners, noting that H.R. 418 contains no prohibitions against including “a person’s appearance on a registry of firearms owners” in the National ID card.

“H.R. 418 does what legislation restricting firearm ownership does,” Paul said. “It punishes law-abiding citizens. Criminals will ignore it.

“H.R. 418 offers us a false sense of greater security at the cost of taking a gigantic step toward making America a police state.”

If the President and Congress were serious about cracking down on alien terrorists, they would (for starters) get serious about securing our border. But while Congress funded an additional 2,000 border guards last year, the administration has stated it will only seek to add 210 new guards.

And while Congress has enacted armed pilots legislation to combat the threat of terrorist hijackers, the administration has fought this proposal every step of the way. As it stands today, there are many pilots who simply refuse to jump over all the hurdles that the administration has erected for those pilots who want to carry firearms in the cockpit.

“It seems disingenuous,” said GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt, “for our elected officials in Washington to claim they are interested in stopping illegal immigrants from operating in our country, when they have refused to perform the most basic tasks to effectively secure our border.”

ACTION: Please contact your Representative to either thank him for opposing H.R. 418 or to take him to task for supporting it. The GOA Legislative Action Center — at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm — will help you to automatically send the correct message to your legislator. (You can read the two different pre-written letters below.)

To view the entire Roll Call vote last week on H.R. 418, see http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll031.xml on the web.

And, the entirety of Rep. Ron Paul’s floor speech in opposition to H.R. 418 can be read at http://www.gunowners.org/op0506.htm on the GOA website.

— Letter taking a Representative to task for supporting H.R. 418 —

Dear Representative:

I was disappointed to see that you voted for H.R. 418. Rep. Ron Paul has correctly described this bill as a Trojan Horse that purports to control immigration, but actually does more to control the lives of average citizens.

I understand that some in Congress don’t think the bill starts us down the road toward a National ID card. But even the Republican talking points in favor of this bill state that “the federal government should set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification such as driver’s licenses.”

Federal standards? Doesn’t that sound like the language of a National ID card? Especially when you consider that the Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized to require any other information he desires to be included in these National IDs, including retina scans, fingerprints or DNA information — or within a future anti-gun administration, even information concerning concealed carry license holders.

Some have argued that H.R. 418 is only voluntary for the states. Of course, the 55 mile-an-hour speed limit was only voluntary, and yet EVERY state in the union was bribed into following that federal mandate.

The problem with this “voluntary” system is that if a state chooses to ignore the requirements in H.R. 418, then citizens in that state will NOT be able to ride on a train or fly an airplane — and will probably not be able to buy a gun from a dealer, as well.

As a citizen who values my privacy, and as a supporter of Second Amendment rights, this bill concerns me greatly.

I will continue to get updates from Gun Owners of America on the progress of this bill. So as a constituent of yours, I would ask you to please reconsider your vote on H.R. 418 — especially since you will probably get to vote on this bill again at some point in the legislative process. Thank you.

Sincerely,

—– Letter thanking a Representative for opposing H.R. 418 —–

Dear Representative:

Thank you so much for voting against H.R. 418. As you know, this bill does very little in the way of controlling illegal immigration. But it will do much to federalize the issuance of drivers’ licenses, thereby establishing a de facto National ID card.

I hope that you will continue to oppose this bill, every step of the way.

Sincerely,

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Camp American’s 5th Annual Essay Contest

All young men and women between the ages of 7 and 18 years who are currently enrolled in home school, Christian school or public school are invited to submit entries to Camp American’s 5th Annual Essay Contest.

Topics for the essays are broken down by the following age groups:

7-9: Good Citizenship
10-12: Patrick Henry
13-15: Public Display of the Ten Commandments or Gun Ownership in America
16-18: The Proper Role of Government or Gun Ownership in America

Prizes include scholarships to Camp American, cash awards and publication of the winning essays. Full details and rules can be seen at http://www.campamerican.com along with last year’s winning entries.

The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2005. For more info, contact Noelle Dielman at [email protected] or by phone at 502-361-9496.