Oklahoma Sovereignty: The Driver License Protection Act
Michael Boldin
Introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature is House Bill 2923 (HB2923), the Oklahoma Sovereignty Driver License Protection Act.
The bill, introduced by State Rep. Mike Ritze, and seeks to protect the people’s right to privacy in the face of a de-facto national ID card still on the books in Washington D.C.
If passed, the act would prohibit, among other things:
- the Department of Public Safety from retaining certain information
- the collection, retention or disclosure of Social Security numbers
- the use of radio frequency identification technology
It would also require “any state agency or department charged with motor vehicle registration or operation” to:
- Cease all biometric comparisons and cease collection of any biometric data, biometric sample or biometric template;
- Render inoperable any computer software capable of such comparisons;
- Disconnect, from any computer system, all hardware used specifically for collecting finger images
“Privacy is essential to our Freedom and I feel HB2923 addresses the essence of what many serving our country have died for,” said Ritze. “As a Veteran I cherish Liberty over tyranny and it must be protected from an all encompassing federal government that does not live in the boundaries of our Constitutional Republic.”
In 2005, the Bush Administration and the Republican-dominated Congress passed the Real ID act, which many civil-rights advocates said was a clear violation of privacy. In response, more than 20 states passed resolutions or binding legislation refusing to comply with the law. And, as a result, both the Bush and the Obama administrations have been unable to implement it.
But, while the Real ID act has been effectively nullified at present, concerns remain. DHS still threatens to implement it in the future, giving new deadlines over and over. And, many in the current administration are pushing Congress to pass a different version of the law, the PASS ID.
Legislation such as HB2923, if passed in states around the country, could doom Pass ID to the same fate – null and void.
Michael Boldin is the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center. He was raised in Milwaukee, WI, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/01/oklahoma-sovereignty-the-driver-license-protection-act/