The Three Big Lies Used to Sell REAL ID
Rep. Leslie Osborn continues to use three big lies to champion SB 1362:
- You can’t fly on an airplane without a federal REAL ID card
- REAL ID stops terrorism
- REAL ID is lawful
Osborn is a total wreck as a legislator, dropping out early after a disastrous attempt at the Speaker’s position. Now she is trying to score some points with the donor class by attempting to force the REAL ID legislation upon Oklahomans despite our rejecting it in 2008.
Now lets take apart Leslie Osborn’s lies one by one.
- You can’t fly without a REAL ID card. Here are a list of acceptable ID cards for air travel: Driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent), U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST), U.S. military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DoD civilians), Permanent resident card, Border crossing card, DHS-designated enhanced driver's license, Airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan), Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID, HSPD-12 PIV card, Foreign government-issued passport, Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card, Transportation worker identification credential, Immigration and Naturalization Service Employment Authorization Card (I-766). And if you show up at the airport with absolutely no identification? No problem according to the TSA: “In the event you arrive at the airport without valid identification, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly. The TSA officer may ask you to complete a form to include your name and current address, and may ask additional questions to confirm your identity. If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint. You may be subject to additional screening.”. So the simple fact is that NO identification is needed to travel within the U.S. Here is a website that covers the legal aspects including court decisions. The TSA and the feds would be in a mess if they can’t intimidate the vast majority of the traveling public so they continue to push the lies that Rep. Osborne is parroting.
- Osborn’s next lie is that REAL ID stops terrorism. It does not, documents reveal nothing about evil intent and terrorists will always find a way to obtain fake documents, either counterfeit or from corrupt officials. With the fall of the Syrian government we saw countless regional offices fall into the hands of terrorists and even the Middle Eastern governments themselves are sympathetic to terrorists and will provide documentation. The simple fact is that no middle eastern identify document is safe or reliable.
- The REAL ID act is lawful. Nowhere in our U.S. Constitution is there language allowing for a federal ID card or identity system so therefore the act is in violation of the Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” . REAL ID requirement would limit the travel between states, in opposition of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution and the First Amendment.
The REAL ID act is not about the drivers license; it is about the data base and sharing ALL of the state information with the other 50 states, with the feds, and with dozens of other governments and NGO organizations around the world. It is a privacy nightmare and facilitates identity theft.
