Real ID revolt

In all the hubbub of the past few days, I almost missed this bit of good news: Idaho lawmakers announced their intention to refuse to comply with federal Real ID standards. That's one more state going on record as rejecting the conversion of its drivers licenses into national ID cards.

The bill states in part that Idaho, "shall enact no legislation nor authorize an appropriation to implement the provisions of the Real ID Act in Idaho, unless such appropriation is used exclusively for the purpose of undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the costs of implementing the Real ID Act or to mount a constitutional challenge to the act by the state Attorney General."

Maine was the first state to formally reject Real ID and Arizona is poised to follow -- the more states that refuse to comply, the sooner the national ID requirement can be buried.

And it's important that many states reject Real ID. If only two or three opt out, those state's residents may be left dangling in the breeze, their drivers licenses no longer accepted as identification at the airport or the Post Office.

So bug your legislators to join the rebellion. It will give them something worthwhile to do for once.

More on Real ID here.