Secure ID at last.(National Security)

Secure ID At Last

Paul Rosenzweig and James Carafano, "Federal Standards for State-Issued Identity Cards," Heritage Backgrounder, February 2005 (heritage.org)

The fact that so many of the 9/11 hijackers traveled with identity documents obtained from state agencies has led many to call for a national identity card, or some similar scheme. These proposals have caused howls of protest from civil libertarians over privacy implications.

Paul Rosenzweig and lames Carafano suggest a middle-ground proposal which would satisfy the genuine security need for identity verification while not falling foul of the concerns of libertarians. They propose a federal standard for state-issued identity documents (mostly driver's licenses). The standard would require the documents to display full name, date of birth, gender, license number, address, photograph, and signature; to have a physical security feature to prevent tampering or illegal duplication; and to feature a machine-readable component containing the cardholder's basic data.

Before issuing such a ...