Tennessee ID Confusion

Our legislature has muddled things up again.

The policy of granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants (and terrorists) has proven to be downright unpopular, so Tennessee will begin issuing "driving certificates" in place of licenses. These are to be used only for driving and have printed right across the face "not valid for ID". This has thoroughly confused everyone from law enforcement agencies to banks and insurance companies.

First is the issue of legality:

''There's a question about Tennessee's ability to tell other states, other police departments, private businesses, and even the federal government what they can or cannot accept as an identification,'' said Tyler Moran, policy analyst with the National Immigration Law Center, an immigration advocacy organization.

''The result is going to be massive inconsistencies in how this document is interpreted across the country and even within the state of Tennessee.''

Insurance companies are attempting to determine whether they can accept the certificates, as are airlines:

Another purpose of the law was to prevent certificate bearers from boarding airlines. Southwest Airlines said it would not accept the driving certificate as ID; other airlines, such as Continental and American, weren't aware of the new law when contacted this week.

And of course, law enforcement in and around Tennessee is deciding what to do:

In Tennessee border states such as Arkansas, where officials had heard of the document, officials also were making up their minds about what to do with it.

''They would be allowed to drive, but they might be arrested for being here illegally,'' said Mike Munns, administrator of the state's Office of Motor Vehicles.

In other words, the "driving certificate" is a useless waste of taxpayer dollars.

 

Posted on Saturday at 9:30 AM in category Stupid Rules
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