Political

By Bob Dill
The Department of Homeland Security has declared that five states are not following the requirements of the REAL ID Act: South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

That means that South Carolina Driver’s licenses will no longer be accepted at secure federal buildings or military bases starting on January 20, 2017, and on January 22, 2018 the Transportation Security Administration will no longer accept South Carolina licenses at airports.

Congressman Mark Sanford, who fought the original bill when he was Governor of South Carolina is working with other impacted states to get a delay in implementation until a legislative solution is found.

The law is believed to violate the spirit of the 10th Amendment by creating a national database and is a giant power grab by the Federal Government.

Opponents of the bill are hopeful that the incoming Trump administration will be supportive of opposition to the REAL ID Bill as currently written.

Representative Sanford and representatives of other states have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, urging the secretary to reconsider the decision to deny five states an extension of their compliance with the REAL ID Law.

The spirit of the opposition to the law was expressed by Congressman Thomas Massie who said: “The REAL ID is an unfunded mandate that threatens personal privacy and violates state sovereignty. The federal government should not force states to issue what amounts to a national ID card.”