Montana Governor signs bill defying U.S. ID law

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: April 24, 2007 6:41:31 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Montana Governor signs bill defying U.S. ID law

[Note:  This item comes from reader Steve Schear.  DLH]

From: Steve Schear <s.schear () comcast net>
Date: April 22, 2007 10:05:54 PM PDT
To: dewayne () warpspeed com
Subject: Montana Governor signs bill defying U.S. ID law

Governor signs bill defying U.S. ID law
<http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/04/18/news/state/54- 
legiid.txt>

HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer said "no, nope, no way, hell no"  
Tuesday to national driver's licenses, signing into law a bill  
supporters say is one of the strongest rejections to the federal plan.

The move means the state won't comply with the Real ID Act, a federal  
law that sets a national standard for driver's licenses and requires  
states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases.

Though several states have either passed or are considering  
resolutions or bills against the act, Montana is the first state to  
outright deny its implementation, according to the American Civil  
Liberties Union.

"This is the first one saying, 'We're not doing it,' " said Scott  
Crichton of the Montana ACLU.
The federal law says the federally approved identification cards  
eventually would be necessary to board airplanes or enter federal  
buildings.

"We also don't think that bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., ought to  
tell us that if we're going to get on a plane we have to carry their  
card, so when it's scanned through they know where you went, when you  
got there and when you came home," said Schweitzer, a Democrat.

"This is still a free country and there are no freer people than the  
people that we have in Montana."

The federal government has never been popular with Montanans. The  
federal Patriot Act was a common whipping boy on the campaign trail  
last year, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle lined up this  
year against the Real ID Act.

Montana's lawmakers had two bills opposed to the Real ID Act to  
consider this session: one opposing it, another to nullify it.

The one opposing the act, sponsored by Rep. Brady Wiseman, D-Bozeman,  
and signed by the governor, was unanimously approved by both  
chambers, while the other bill was seen as unconstitutional and was  
rejected by a Senate committee.

Wiseman said getting support for his bill was an easy sale.

"Nobody in Montana thinks we should have this thing, so it became  
easy. There was never an argument, and I never had to persuade  
anybody," he said.

He said he's been urging members of the state's congressional  
delegation to support efforts to repeal the Real ID Act.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he is pushing national legislation to  
repeal the Real ID Act.

"Montanans are speaking loud and clear on this issue and its time for  
Capitol Hill to listen," Tester said in a statement.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., originally supported the federal  
legislation, but said Tuesday that he is now against it.

Rehberg said he originally supported the act because it was  
recommended by the Sept. 11 Commission as a way to strengthen  
national security, and he thought it was what most Montanans wanted.

"The Legislature has disagreed, the governor has disagreed and I will  
accept and support their position," Rehberg said.

-----------------------

[This has not been getting much mainstream press.  The citizens and  
government of Montana appear deadly serious about this.  Montana has  
a deep rooted history of ignoring Federal laws they disagree with and  
have even enshrined this independence in their state Constitution.]


"Montana did not ratify Prohibition, nor did Montana law enforcement  
enforce Prohibition within Montana's borders.

The Montana Constitution includes the following clause: Section 33.  
Importation of armed persons. No armed person or persons or armed  
body of men shall be brought into this state for the preservation of  
the peace, or the suppression of domestic violence, except upon the  
application of the legislature, or of the governor when the  
legislature cannot be convened.

This has been used, in the recent past, to limit federal law  
enforcement incursions into the state, a fact which has been credited  
with being responsible for the group known as the Montana Freeman  
being arrested (by the Montana police, who wished to prevent another  
Waco-type incident), without a shot being fired. This means that  
Montana does not feel that the feds have the unlimited right to do as  
they please in Montana, or to Montanans.

A resolution has been passed by the Montana legislature requiring  
federal law enforcement that wishes to do anything in Montana to act  
through the appropriate local sheriff. The intention is to eventually  
give this the force of law. This tends to signify Montana's  
sovereignty as a state, as well as its willingness to stand up to the  
feds.

And, for a passport, you do not NEED a photo ID if you can get a  
citizen to whom you are well known to vouch for you. You'll also need  
some other paperwork, but you CAN get thru without a driver's license."

[Lest you think this is just a small matter its important to remember  
that the war over Southern secession started with South Carolina  
assuming it had the right to nullify federal laws.  This was never  
really settled legally, that's why Jefferson Davis was never brought  
to trial after the armistice, but instead by the probably illegal  
passage of the 14th Amendment.]


Steve


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