AJC.com > Talk of the town > Archives > 2006 > December > 17
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Is national ID requirement good or bad?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Starting May 11, 2008, everyone in the country will have to provide extensive proof of their identity when they apply for a license: name, address, photograph, Social Security number, birth certificate, citizenship status — and possibly even your fingerprints and retinal scan. Read the story.
The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, requires uniform standards that states will have to follow when issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards to non-drivers.
Legislators in Georgia and elsewhere are rebelling against the federal mandates contained in the act. State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) says the act’s requirements are an invasion of privacy, could open the door to identity fraud and will cost Georgia taxpayers as much as $85 million to implement.
Some privacy watchdogs are worried the act is loosely written to allow for the taking of biometrics, things such as fingerprints and retinal scans.
What’s your opinion? Is it a good protective measure or does it go too far?
