Religions could kill US Real ID scheme
THE US government's plans for photo IDs might be kicked to touch by some of the stranger religious groups.
According to News.com, the "Real ID" scheme is in a bit of trouble because there are some religious groups who are opposed to having their photographs taken. More to the point, they have rulings from the Supreme Court which say states can't demand to have their faces snapped.
The US Supreme Court decided 20 years ago that preserving freedom of religion outweighed a state's interest in requiring an ID photograph.
However, the Real ID Act that takes effect on May 11, means that those who do not have photograph IDs will have problems flying on commercial airliners and entering federal buildings, including some Social Security and Veterans Affairs offices.
The groups in question include the Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Muslims, members of Native American faiths, and some fundamentalist Christians.
Real ID does not allow for religious opt-outs and some states are frantically trying to buy time before going ahead with it. Others have enacted laws known as "religious freedom restoration acts," which more broadly accommodate religious beliefs in the face of government regulations.
But generally it looks like there will be another wave of court cases which will be won by the religious groups.
This will make the Real ID program a bit of a ass. If a photograph stops terrorism, as Homeland Security seems to be saying, then all a terrorist has to do is opt out on religious grounds.
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While there may be a policy that does not force people to have their pictures taken for ID cards or whatnot, that doesn't mean that there isn't still a requirement to have one to "enjoy" the benefits of freer travel among other things. It's not like there are religious exemptions for going through metal detectors or being patted down for weapons in line. As religion has always been a matter of convenience, watch as people compromise their values to for the convenience of moving through line faster.
At last the almost invariably wacky nature of religious "attitude" in the US is going to do something useful, namely put a foot in the increasingly dictatorial nature of the White House administration. Until, that is, the day the White House decides that they're all just terrorists anyway, and does a huge Waco on them all.
But you just said: opting out would make it more difficult to get on airlines.
Our government is currently being run by incredibly stupid people. Instead of mandatory ID, seizing laptops, illegal wiretapping, secret prisons, elimination of habeas corpus and border fences maybe we should stop slaughtering people on the other side of the planet for no damn good reason. That might *actually* make us safer. Reason, however, doesn't stand a chance under the bush regime.