AutismIsSuperior
Is there a source for this?
Transgender Kansans had their IDs invalidated overnight, causing confusion and panic
Some transgender Kansans received letters urging them to request new IDs that conflict with their gender identity and presentation, because their current ones are "invalid immediately." It’s the result of a new law that also regulates which bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use.
dfyxI’m still baffled by the fact that for most US citizens, a drivers license is the only government ID they have. It’s not that hard to issue an ID card to everyone and when everyone is required by law to have one, it’s way harder for rogue lawmakers to take it away.
Here in Germany we’ve had mandatory ID for decades and it works really well. Even if our government suddenly decided that being trans isn’t acceptable anymore, the worst that would happen in that regard is that your ID card shows your deadname (gender isn’t listed explicitly). Sure, that sucks (a lot!) but at least it doesn’t take away people’s ability to vote or otherwise identify themselves.
The Kansas thing also invalidates state-issued IDs, not just drivers licenses. Usually it’s redundant for people to get both, and that wouldn’t have helped in this situation anyways.
One could also present a passport or military ID, but the former was also being invalidated for trans individuals by Trump, and the latter applies to almost no one, given the difficulty of simply existing as a trans person in the military.
Okay, that changes my first sentence a bit but the rest still stands. Because as a German I am required by law to have valid ID and the government is required to issue one to me, it would incredibly hard to invalidate any ID that they themselves issued without providing a replacement.
You see, in the US, we’re required to have ID as well, but we have to pay for them, keep them updated, etc.
Yeah, actually, that brings up a good point. If poll taxes are unconstitutional and you have to pay to get your ID card, then ID requirements for voting should also be unconstitutional.
It’s the same in Germany, it costs about 40€, you have to fill out a formulae, you have to go to the citizens office, you need to get it updated if you move places and you need a new one every 10 years or so. The only difference is, you require it in your daily life - when there is a control of your bus ticket, when you want to buy alcohol, went you get a room in the hotel etc. Life would be pretty complicated without an ID, but I think there are also people who give a shit. So it’s not like everybody has an ID (most do) and also it’s not like the state sends them for free to you via mail.
Yes, this is the exact same in the United States. There is no difference. Except may that if you are pulled over by a police officer without ID, you can be fined or even arrested. Otherwise, what you have described is the exact same situation as the U.S.
There is an inherent distrust of government in the US probably based on how our country started. Even if it’s an illusion, we like the idea of making it as hard as possible for the government to track us. Same reason we we resist universal gun registration as well.
I get it, but I don’t. “I don’t want an official government id so I have you use a government issued document that the government accepts as form of if.”
And don’t get me started with the apparent phobia to passports.
I guess you have to live there to fully understand.
Living here doesn’t make you understand, it’s still BS. There are people here with strong “you can’t let the government have a picture of your face, then they’ll own you!” Attitudes, who also have a driver’s license. There’s the anti-vaccine crowd who think the vaccines have tracking microchips in them. No that’s just your phone. The list goes on. None of it makes sense when you think about it for a single second.
Honestly the only phobia to passports I’ve heard is that they’re not cheap and require forms/work to obtain. I’ve got one, but if you’re just scraping by, you’re not going to want to drop what equates to like a week and a half of federal minimum wage earnings to get a document you might never use.
This is part of our mythology, but it’s just that, myth. The reality is most of what we experience today started in the late 60’s into then 70’s and then was co-opt by the right wing ideology in rhe 80’s because it aligns with their deregulation goals.
Essentially, boomers started it and then the Republican’s twisted it into something else.
You have no idea how far people here will go in the name of ‘freedom.’
They brought into the myth of the ‘independent’ settler travelling alone in a single covered wagon. Any sign of community besides the church is weakness.
Getting an ID in the US is not as simple or cheap as it can be in Europe. A lot of people simply can’t afford it.
Most people don’t travel abroad (expensive) so they don’t have a passport.
Usually the drivers license and social security card (not valid for id on its own) is all they have. Even getting a copy of your birth certificate can be time consuming and expensive.
Everything is done on paper. You need to go to the court house and wait in line during the day when you need to be at work (and can’t get time off). You have to update your registration every time you move, even if it’s a few blocks because of gerrymandering. Your voting location changes and is not always intuitive. Parking can be limited and lines long.
You need paper copies of multiple other forms of id. And then they can make you do it all again by taking you off the voter list for “reasons”.
This is all intentional. They don’t want poor people to vote.
This is on top of the combo of a complicated electoral system that honestly most Americans don’t even fully understand, partially because it’s not taught well in schools.
How so you get useful government issued ID cards there? The only argument that makes sense to me here is that making an government issued ID mandatory hurts the lower/working classes who can’t afford to take a day off work to get their photo taken and info recorded for the ID to be issued.
Not to mention they have expiration dates as people change over time (being issued one at birth won’t necessarily be accurate later if it has a photo or address or anything that, say, would be required for voting. I mean, we’ve got Birth Certificates. And we all get government issued Social Security numbers and cards. The latter isn’t supposed to be used for ID as it’s just a 9 digit number that will be reused. (but places use it anyway)
People also don’t really want everything tied to one 9 digit number. (Why Drivers licenses are better, IDK) tracking individuals is kinda anti-freedom. That said, all of our info has been leaked so many times by so many state sponsored, public and private businesses at this point that it’s all just theater anyway.
